


We Will Be Heroes

by Wolfal_E_Hinsley



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, I promise, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Linked Universe AU, Linked Universe Characters Are There, Lots of time traveling stuff, Shadow centric story, Spin off to Linked Universe, They're just in the background a lot, Weird prophecies and stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 88,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26116399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfal_E_Hinsley/pseuds/Wolfal_E_Hinsley
Summary: In his attempts to track down the villain that brought him back, Shadow Link stumbles upon a few allies of the Heroes. Determined to help their friends in the battles across time, they come together to make a group of heroes all in their own right. They may not all possess the Spirit of the Hero, but they will write a legend all their own.Aka. I decided to throw a bunch of random background characters from Zelda into a group and make a Linked Universe story out of it.
Relationships: Legend (Linked Universe)/Marin (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 93
Kudos: 167





	1. A Broken Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Zelda or the Linked Universe. This story will feature six different characters. It takes place in the Linked Universe, but instead of it being about the Links, it’s about their friend’s attempts to help them in the fight against Dark Link.

Splinters and shards of glass. The cracking, the webbing of a mirror slowly falling to pieces. Who knew such a sound could drown out everything else? A crash and a tug in his gut as suddenly it became apparent that he was now weak… weak… weak… He was fading. His dark form was no longer safe in that world of light. 

He didn’t care. He kept going. His brother… his brothers would die if he didn’t destroy it all completely… if he didn’t destroy himself completely. He shoved and pushed with what little strength he had left. Vaati’s protests and demands went unheard. He wasn’t going to listen to that fool anymore. 

All he could think of was her.

The princess. 

Her soft spoken words and her gentle, yet firm assurance that he was the Hero too, whatever his shortcomings might be. He glanced once more at what remained of the mirror, catching a glimpse of his own face in all the remaining shards. His eyes softened as for a brief moment… he saw the face of his best friend… his brother. Blonde hair sweeping over soft violet eyes in a narrow, silent determination. The face of a Hero. The face that five boys shared… five, soon to be four. He grunted, now more certain than ever as he rammed the last of his strength and the mirror toppled, and he along with it. He turned over, ignoring the splitters of glass that pressed into his clothes and skin, and he stared blankly at the swirling clouds and the now dying winds that brushed past his dark hair and his dimming eyes. 

Suddenly he was aware of many little things… like the sound of many footsteps and cheers of victory as Vaati was toppled and the Heroes marched up to the top in search for the princess. He heard the sharp gasp. Then three more. They saw the mirror. They’d seen what he’d done.

“Shadow?” Came his best friend’s voice, which matched all of his brothers, “Did you… are you the one who broke the Dark Mirror?” He grimaced a little feeling nauseous and weak. Fading… fading fast now… he was dying. This was really it. For some reason this felt like it was right. He felt… contempt. This was okay. Never mind the Heroes crowding around him, grasping his hands and propping him up as they held him close, all near tears despite the terrible things he’d done… despite him only truly knowing one of them… the one who’d betrayed him and the one he’d tried to kill for the crime. 

A small exchange of words. A promise that he was one of them. A Hero. A Link. He clung fast to that as the light got brighter. As he finally began to fade. Maybe now they’ll see him. Maybe now people won’t be afraid to look back at their shadow and maybe smile or wave? Show the slightest of kindness and warmth to those who lived in darkness. After all, he had saved Hyrule, had he not? 

His form became light, like he was being carried away by the wind. The light world vanished, and suddenly all there was to see was darkness, leaving him trapped forever in the shadows once more. Trapped following behind the Hero. Stuck somewhere between the Dark World and the World of Light. Surely to be forgotten with time, but for now… he was fine with this. Everything was going to be okay. 

Who knew how long he stayed that way? 

Sometimes he thought he could see glimpses of his brothers. Moments when they would look back and wave, and he, in turn, would try to wave back. It warmed him when that happened… but most of the time, he was left in the cold darkness to contemplate the choice he’d made. To forever think about a broken mirror and the shadow that Vaati had tied to it. It wasn’t so bad, being dead. It was peaceful… it was quiet.

But darn it, he was a Hero, the princess had said as much! And what was a Hero if not restless but stubborn? He longed to wake from the darkness and find the Hero smiling down at him. Telling him he would be okay. Telling him they would be brothers and that they’d travel the world of Light together. An impossible dream, but one he so desperately wanted.

And so, the fifth Hero of the Four Sword waited.

He waited and waited.

Alone with his thoughts.

Left stranded in a twisted, empty afterlife by the work of his own hands.

There he would have waited forever, passing from Hero to Hero, completely forgotten. His sacrifice left completely unremembered.

But of course, nothing is that simple… for one day, everything shifted. Everything changed, and when the Hero of Shadows truly opened his eyes again for the first time in years… he awoke in the Dark World.


	2. The Hero Awakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shadow of the Hero awakes in a version of the Dark World that is very different that his own. With his magic on the fritz and an unknown evil calling for his blood, he realizes something is terribly wrong.

He gasped as his icy blue eyes shot open. He was not greeted with the soft rays of sunlight that he’d fallen asleep to. Instead, to a stone ceiling covered in grime from years of neglect. He sat up, rubbing his head as he took in his surroundings. He was alone, trapped in a small cell of some sort. It was a bit laughable, the dinky iron bars that stood between him and the dark narrow hall that would surely lead to some sort of exit. He didn’t dwell too much on that, instead, he found himself marveling at the fact that he was breathing and alive… not just a shadow trapped in perpetual darkness and silence. 

A sensation shivered across his arms and he shuttered.

Cold. 

He felt cold. Instinctively, he folded in on himself, hugging his knees as he tried to get warm. Cold was something he was used to, but not like this. Not the feeling that was now clinging to his pale, ashen skin. He wondered where he was. He wondered how he’d gotten there. Most of all, he wondered what had happened that he would come back to life. 

He sat there for a moment, contemplating the fact that he was alive with a certain wonder and excitement. Then, the wonder settled into a certain, nagging fear that crept up his throat. How was he back? What the dark mirror repaired? Did some other dark force summon him? If so, why? Was Vaati back? Was this the work of Ganon? Was he alive again to be used once more as a puppet against the Hero? Oh, by Hylia, he prayed with all his might that it wasn’t that. He couldn’t stand the idea after all he’d just gone through just to save those idiots. 

He was jerked from his confused and muddled thoughts when suddenly he heard a snickering sound. He looked up and noticed a faint light making its way to where he was. He scrambled to his feet, mentally calling for his sword, only to panic a little when it did not appear. He grasped desperately for his control over the shadows, but none of the shadows in that place seemed like they wanted to listen. They were even more rebellious than he was. Selfishly sliding away and mocking him, challenging his control over them. He barely was able to summon a small, meager dagger from the darkness. Suddenly those bars in front of him looked a lot more imposing. He doubted he could convince the darkness to even let him think about slipping out of them.  
Outside his cell… was a poe. He stared at it, confused as it’s lantern swayed back and forth, back and forth. 

“What are you looking at?” He growled, discarding the dagger and opting to lung at the bars. He gripped them and snarled a little as he bared his pointed teeth in an attempt to show that poe just who was in charge. The poe just laughed gleefully, very much amused with his attempt to scare it off. He faltered, not really used to weaker monsters that didn’t cower at his out-lashes. 

He heard a soft click and looked down to realize the poe had unlocked his cell. He frowned, but pushed the door open and stepped out. It laughed again and darted down the hall. Warily, he chased after it. Sometimes following poes could help you find things… like exits. Other times… well… he hoped this one wasn’t out to kill him while his powers were acting so finicky. 

“Wait!” He called as it suddenly ducked out of sight right at a dead end. He pressed his hands experimentally against the wall, and found it was a false wall. An illusion to keep outsiders out. He wasted no time in stepping through. What he saw on the other side made him gasp. It was a circular room, at the very middle was a black mirror not unlike the Dark Mirror. He felt no connection to this one, so he knew it wasn’t what brought him back, but he did know that there was something very… very… wrong about it. On it’s glass, it flashed pictures of various people, all wielding swords of some type. A man with a wolf pelt, a boy covered in scars, a simple traveler in green, a flamboyant warrior with a blue scarf, a cynical man with pink in his hair, a man in a great suit of armor with a mightier sword, a boy in a white cloak of some kind with a stunning blade on his back, a child with a similar blade and a wild grin, and then…

His heart skipped a beat as the mirror settled on a person he knew too well. Four different colors were stitched together to make up his tunic. The boy’s face matched his own in every detail except for the sharp, fang-like teeth he had. His eyes, once completely blue, now danced like a kaleidoscope, showing off many different colors. He strode to the mirror, resting his palm on the image as tears sprang to the corners of his eyes.

“...Link.” He whispered.   
Suddenly the poe’s laughter filled the room and he realized it was still there, hovering behind him. He spun around just as the image of the Hero faded and faced the creature.

“What is this place? Where am I?” He demanded. Of course, it didn’t answer. It just laughed and vanished from view. He narrowed his eyes as a new cackling replaced the poe’s more playful laughter. He took an instinctive step backwards.

“That doesn’t matter, little traitor.” A voice snickered, “Because once I have what I need from you… you will be obsolete and will likely never wake again.” His head whipped around as panic seemed to rise inside of him. Purple flames flickered to life all around the room and revealed dark, ominous rifts in the walls, each covered in varying forms of Hylian writing. 

“What-” He started only for him to suddenly gasp and sink to his knees as a sharp, stabbing pain tugged at him. The purple flames danced and leapt at him, circling him. His eyes flickered about, watching them in panic. He could feel layers upon layers of dark magic at work… but he was not the one controlling it. 

“Who are you?” He gasped, “What are you doing to me?!” His eyes shifted from blue to red, back and forth as he felt the dark magic work it’s way inside of him and felt it try to pull him apart from the inside. For what reason? He did not know. He desperately fought the opposing magic with his own. But his magic was weak. It had been far too long since he’d used it. He’d been asleep… he’d been dead for far too long to have that kind of control anymore. 

“Why, you should know me and what I’m doing! The Wind Mage and Demon King wasted their magic in creating you during the era of Light Force. They crafted you to be the foil of the Hero, but you turned on your makers. I need a little extra… shadow magic. Undoing the magic they used to create you and using it for something far more useful seems far more productive than just letting sulk in the shadows for the rest of eternity… leaving all that untapped magic unused.” The voice explained. He inhaled, gasping for breath as he curled in on himself. 

Undoing the magic they used to create him?

This unknown enemy was going to kill him to use his shadow magic? But for what? What did he need with his magic? Why bring him back to life only to kill him and drain him of his strength all over again? What did this being had to gain from that and how did they even come across the power to summon the Hero’s shadow from the darkness?

He didn’t know.

All he knew is that he really didn’t want to die again at that moment. It wouldn’t be the same as when he’d broken the mirror. If this thing succeeds… something told him that the Hero and the Light World would suffer for it. If that happened… well… what would the princess think? What would he think?

“No!” He roared, his eyes finally settling on blue as he shoved with all his might against the enemy’s magic, “I will not be used again!” The flames reacted and were swallowed in his shadows. He didn’t waste a moment to let the enemy regain his grasp on him. He instead stumbled blindly towards one of the rifts, pressing his hand against it and praying to the goddesses that it brought him somewhere… anywhere but there. The shadows warped, as if creating a tunnel, and he stumbled out into an open, ruined field. 

He gawked up at the stormy, dark red sky that was void of any sun or moon. He could hear the screams of monsters and souls in every direction and feel the harsh wind ripping at his dark tunic and hair. The Dark World. He was in the Dark World. He didn’t have much time to ponder what that meant when he heard a monster screech, “There! The boy! Get the boy!” In a horrible, inhuman voice. He didn’t think, he ran.   
His mind raced as he tried to remember the area he was in. He’d been in the Dark World dozens of times. He was a shadow, after all. This was supposed to be the realm he was the most powerful in. So why did he feel so weak? He hesitated as he came to a crossroads with a sign pointing towards a village. He was fairly certain that there had not been one there the last time he’d been there. This wasn’t the Dark World he knew. This wasn’t the shadow of the Hero’s home. No… this felt more like a flipped and perverted Hyrule. It felt like a place that had once been great, pure, and powerful, but along the way had been corrupted and twisted until it was a mockery of the realm he had once called his home. What was this place?

He yelped as a spear sailed past him and he twisted around, spotting hinoxes and moblins chasing not too far behind him. All of them had eyes filled with greed as they eyed the once powerful shadow in hunger. He forgot his confusion and continued his escape, running towards the apparent village in hopes to find a place he could hide and recollect his thoughts. He ducked behind a nearby building and let the shadows cover him, hiding him from the view of the searching monsters. He then summoned a shadow dagger, watching carefully as the monsters passed by and reaching out to grab a small straggling moblin. The creature didn’t have time to cry out before his shadows consumed the creature and silenced it. He pressed his dagger against it in a threatening manner.

“Who is your master, beast? Why is he trying to kill me? Where is the nearest Moon Gate that I may gain access to the Light World?” He demanded. The monster sputtered and snarled, thrashing savagely. It took a moment too long for him to realize the monster had no intelligence or wit to it at all. It was truly a mindless, savage beast. It couldn’t answer any of his questions. With a huff, he ran the monster through with the dagger, expunging the shadows and glaring down at it as if it had betrayed him. His eyes widened a moment upon seeing it’s blood, which was not crimson, but dark, inky black. 

“What the-” He started, but very suddenly, the monster sprang back to life, not even caring about the wound he’d just inflected onto it. He cried out as the creature tackled him, pinning him to the ground and screeching in excitement for his ugly friends to come see his prize. He thrashed in it’s iron grip, once more calling on the darkness to try and push the thing off of him and kill it, but the shadows stopped cooperating as much again, and he was helpless as the other monsters doubled back, screeching in delight at the boy. Their ring leader and likely the one who’d ordered the monsters to chase after him in the first place, was a wizzrobe or a mage of some sort, though he took the form of an animal… a large, man-sized rat in mage’s clothes. He was horrible to look at, with an ugly snout and disgusting, razor teeth that grinned down at him. 

“Get him up, bring him here.” The rat guy ordered. He fought as a hinox wrapped it’s meaty hands around his wrists and jerked him to his feet. He glared at the rat guy, his lips curling in disgust and his sharp teeth flashing in warning. 

“How curious.” The rat man said as he approached him, “We haven’t had someone enter the Dark World and retain their humanoid form since… since the Hero was here.” He stiffened at the word Hero, his eyes flashing in desperation.

“The Hero was here?” He croaked, “Where?” The rat guy just clicked his tongue in distaste.

“Rude of you to not introduce yourself to your host.” He said.

“Rude of you not to greet your guests properly. Honestly, a creepy underling like yourself should really work on his dramatic flare and monologue. Please, do tell me who you are, what you want, and how I might go about disposing of you so I can be on my merry way.” He replied snidely. The rat guy wrinkled his nose, which really was not a pleasant thing to witness, but responded anyways with an impatient huff.

“I am Inzo the Wanderer. I came here looking for golden power, what I found instead was this… wasteland.” The rat guy motioned around him to the ruined world they stood in, “But I did find great power. You too… you too could be a part of the great shift! The master says your important, little boy. Says you’ll help us win a divine battle unlike any Hyrule has faced before. The master will grant you more power than you can ever imagine. Just ask him.” Inzo motioned towards the moblin that he had stabbed. The one that should have died within that simple, but effective strike. The one that bled black before rising and overpowering him just as he lost focus and control over the shadows again. 

“Oh, so join the dark side speech? I’ve given those before. I’d give you a… hmm… three out of ten, buddy. You are not very convincing. I know what your master wants from me. He wants to kill me. Not exactly a great offer, but, while we’re on the topic, who’s the master and why the heck can he make monsters do…” He nodded towards the black blooded moblin, “That?” 

“Oh, it’s all in preparation! The Hero will fall… oh yes he will! And the goddesses too! It will all crumble! Oh, yes! And we’ll reign! We the children of the dark!” The rat guy cackled. His expression narrowed on the ugly creature. The Hero will fall? Not if he had anything to say about that.

“You asked me to introduce myself?” He said in a cold, calculating voice. The rat guy sobered up, nodding a little too frantically with a misshapen and lopsided smirk on his face.

“I’m Link the Hero, moron.” He said firmly, “And you just asked the wrong shadow to fight for your cause.” And with that, all of chaos broke loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...
> 
> Note on the Dark World... so, the Dark World, weirdly enough exists in Four's era, despite the timeline stating that Four is from the Light Force Era, aka, before Time split up the timelines (Accidentally). The Dark World after the timeline split only is shown in the Downfall timeline due to Legend's Dark World being a result of the Sacred Realm being corrupted and all that. That kinda begged the question... what the heck was the Dark World from Four's era? 
> 
> As far as I can tell from playing the games and such, it's pretty much just Hyrule, but like it's shadow or something, whereas Legend's Dark World LOOKS like Hyrule, but has enough differences in it (much like Lorule) for it to be considered it's own separate realm. I dunno, I might be looking too much into this. The timeline's all over the place. 
> 
> Anyways, in this story, the Dark World from Four's timeline eventually merges into the Dark World created by the corruption of the Sacred Realm, making it both a shadow of Hyrule AS WELL AS a corrupted holy land, hence why it looks so much like Hyrule despite being it's own separate place. (Lorule is different because Lorule is quite literally a flip reality to Hyrule, hence why they have similar but opposing layouts... even though Lorule is basically set up to act like a Dark World, it in of itself, is not the Dark World, but it's own land.) Anyways, all this to say, the Dark World will have hints of both the games about Legend and the games about Four incorporated into it to support this idea. Sorry for the long winded and likely confusing explanation on the Dark World and have a nice day!


	3. The Realm of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hero's Shadow makes his way to the Light World. There, he meets an interesting individual...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, the Dark World is really weird from this story. I know typically in Legend's timeline you can only leave it with a magic mirror, but Four's had Moongates and pearls and all that, so we're kinda just merging them and going with it. Now, without further ado!

He felt a sudden surge of confidence as the shadows enveloped him and he reappeared behind Inzo. The rat guy turned to object to the sudden escape, only to meet Link’s fist. He crumbled immediately and the monsters wailed in anger, rushing at him. He tried to muster up enough magic to teleport again, but the shadows left him once more. This was starting to get irritating. Couldn’t a creature of darkness teleport and summon weapons from shadows anymore without weird foriegn powers constantly trying to stop his powers from functioning properly, or was that just too much to ask? 

He just barely rolled out of the way as a hinox grabbed blindly to where he’d been standing. Unarmed and with finicky magic, he opted to run again, this time stumbling through a ruined village full of distorted animal people and monsters that all screamed for his capture and seemed determined to drag him back to their mysterious dark master. Apparently going to the village was a foolish choice after all. He raced north, past a sign declaring that he was approaching a place called skull woods. He thought nothing of it as he rushed into the trees and purposefully lost himself. When he no longer heard footsteps behind him, he swung himself nimbly onto a tree branch to watch the search from a safe perch. 

He couldn’t help but cackle as he noticed the monsters themselves getting hopelessly lost and eventually screeching in frustration and leaving. Monsters were so dumb. He couldn’t believe he actually once relied on them as henchmen. Then again, you couldn’t very well do the evil conqueror and destroyer thing without a few dumb lackeys to send the Hero’s way and to cause a little trouble.

He leaned back in relief once all the monsters left before he heard a soft humming sound. Curious, he climbed through the trees towards the noise, careful to keep out of the sight of any monsters that wished him harm. As he reached the heart of the forest, he was a little shocked to find a small tile placed on the earth below. The tile shimmered an unearthly blue. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was… it was a Moon Gate. A path to the world of Light. A way out of the nightmare he’d awoken in. He came down from his perch in the trees and approached cautiously.   
Did he want to enter the world of Light? 

Was it safe? Last he’d been, he was only safe in the Light World when it was night or when there were shadows for him to cower in. There was no telling what time of day it was in the Light World or if there would be enough shadows to protect him. Not to mention the whole, connected to the dark mirror thing he once had going on. If he tried entering the Light World without a mirror to tether him back to the world of darkness, then what would become of him? Would he just die again, only to be revived by that dark master and sacrificed for his shadow magic?

He realized too quickly that he might not get much of a choice as he heard the cackling and playful laughter of poes. He sounded like he was surrounded by them and he doubted, after where the last one had led him, they were there to help. More likely than not, they had the same goal as the other monsters… to drag him back to that room for the sacrifice thing. He swallowed, gathering his courage as he took an experimental step onto the tile. Once more, the world warped around him and he was left standing in another forest. This one was far greener and felt much more alive. Behind him in the forest was a pedestal… and a blade. He hesitated, approaching the blade. Instantly it flared, glowing bright blue and making Link wince as he shielded his eyes and took a step back. His hands stung as if the weapon he’d appeared next to him had burned them, even if he was still a distance away. 

Yeah, no. Best not to mess with weird magic swords that he knew nothing about. That only spelled trouble if anything that happened with Link and the Four Sword had anything to say to that. He backed away, deciding to walk back through the woods in the direction he’d come. The woods were set up a little differently than they had been in the dark world, and Link didn’t really recognize that forest he was in at all. Just like the Dark World, it seemed something had changed and rearranged the Light World. He didn’t really dwell on that, instead he dwelt on the relief he felt about the fact that it was night out and the forest was plenty dark enough to protect him. 

He stumbled out of the forest into yet another village, but this one was not in shambles or ruins. It was bustling with as much life as it could have in the dead of night. Link swallowed hard and reached once more for his magic. This time, seeing as he was no longer in the grasp of the forgien Dark World, it reacted like it was supposed to, though he could tell it was still weakened. He didn’t expect much else considering he’d been dead only a few hours before.   
The magic adjusted his teeth to look normal and darkened his hair from dark violet to jet black. It brought more color to his skin and made him look warm and alive like any other creature of light. He ordered his hood to stop flickering like a dark flame and it spilled into a normal hood. He straightened and soothed the uneasy shadows in the folds of his tunic, making his tunic appear like any other fabric and not an outfit stitched from darkness itself. He then summoned a replica of the Four Sword and a sheath onto his back, properly arming himself with a weapon that wouldn’t draw more attention than he desired. 

He took a step into the sleeping village, and then another. Soon he was moving through the village, subtly rustling through grass and checking pots for any rupees the Picori may have left behind for travelers. He came up with enough for a decent meal and found himself marching towards the local tavern. No one sent him a second glance as he strode past the late night drunks and the restless travelers inside that were just looking for a place to wait the night out. He found the bartender and set the found rupees down.

“I need milk and something warm to eat.” He requested, his stomach growling in agreement. He might have been a shadow, but if he was ever going to get his strength back, he needed to eat and regain the energy he lost from being dead for who knew how long. The bartender took his money, returning shortly with a cool glass of milk and a steaming bowl of stew. He dug in without hesitation, hungrily eating up the food as if it had been ages since he’d eaten… and it probably had been. Halfway through the meal, he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He resisted the urge to straight up murder whoever the heck had dared to touch him, instead opting to glance lazily behind him. He was a little startled when his eyes settled on large blue eyes that were stitched onto a rather bizarre bunny hood. An extravagant scarf was wrapped around the guy’s shoulders and he wore a violet tunic that went all the way down to his ankles.

“What?” Link grunted towards the man, ignoring his bizarre outfit and the strange bird hovering over the guy’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry to bother you.” The man said quickly, “But I noticed you had a sword, and I am in a bit of a pickle.” Link rolled his eyes, turning to face the guy fully.

“And?” He asked impatiently. The man shifted on his feet as if he was nervous or worried.

“Well, you see, I came here this morning to advertise some of the products in my shop, seeing as business had been weird with the surplus in monsters and all, and since I sold weapons, I thought I could be of help to the village, but they called me, of all people, a crook! My bargains are the greatest! My prices are fair and reasonable! But of course, not everyone understands the struggles of a merchant such as myself.” The man explained in the most dramatic voice ever, which slightly impressed him. Link was a sucker for people with dramatic flare. He arched an eyebrow, raising his glass of milk slightly to urge the man to continue. 

“Well, anyways, finally, I came here, and by that time it was getting dark and there wasn’t really any way to get back to my shop before the sunset. I brought my hammer along just in case that happened, cos’ you know the monsters come out more at night and all that, but um…” The man made a small gulping sound, “I don’t think I can get back home on my own. The monsters are terrifying as is and I really try my best to avoid them since I am not exactly the Hero of Legend, you know? But lately, they’ve been getting more and more restless and they are getting closer to the shop. And they’re getting stronger. I need a strong hero-type such as yourself to help me!” He almost said no. Mostly because, as wonderfully dramatic as this man was, Link had no clue who the guy was and he still had no idea where in Hyrule he was. 

But he didn’t because of the man’s mentioning of monsters. They were coming out at night more and getting stronger and restless. Link’s mind immediately raced to the black blood of the monster he’d attempted to kill in the Dark World. Things like that only happened when something powerful like Vaati or Ganon was stirring or awake. The black blood and extra strength was new, but most certainly the sign of a powerful sorcerer or force getting involved. Whoever had brought him back had brought him back to access the powers that Ganon and Vaati had embedded into him so that he could defeat the Hero. They were likely also behind the stronger, black blooded monsters. Perhaps a little investigation using a person who knew the area he’d found himself in as a guide was in order. 

“You’re a merchant, yeah?” He questioned before downing more of his milk. 

“Yes! I will certainly pay you for slaying the monsters and helping back to my shop. I am fair!” The man promised. 

“In return, I need some info… and maybe some advice and directions.” He decided. The man nodded under his hood, making the rabbit hood bob up and down wildly. Behind him, the little bird thing mimicked the man’s action. He set the glass down, getting to his feet. 

“Link.” He introduced, offering the man his hand. The man stiffened for a second, causing Link to worry, but then the man eagerly grabbed his hand and shook it hard.

“Ravio!” He said gleefully, “And this is Sheerow!” He acknowledged the little bird thing hovering over the man’s, now dubbed Ravio, shoulder. 

“Okay then, where do you live?” He asked. Ravio abruptly turned, walking towards the door. He took that as a sign to follow. He practically chased after the man, who walked briskly down the darkened road. He saw no signs of monsters and he wondered what had the strange merchant so worried. The longer they walked, the more he started to understand. The air felt… off. Like something bad was lurking in the dark and waiting to strike at any given moment. He wondered if it was just him causing the unsettling feeling, seeing as he was a shadow, or if something bad really was about to happen. Either way, he walked with his sword drawn. 

“So… Link, was it?” The merchant called as they walked. 

“Yeah?”

“You a Hero like the Hero of Legend? You know, the one who saved Hyrule and all that?” He asked with curiosity, “Because you sure do look like the Hero type, with that sword you got… though the black hair is new. Is that your natural hair color or…” Ravio asked.

“Er, it’s just a name… you know someone else with that name?” He questioned in confusion. Ravio faltered in his strides. Link wondered if, under that ridiculous hood, Ravio looked thoughtful.

“Er, I rent the house I live in from him and take care of it when he’s off on adventures and stuff. The house is actually my shop. He was steamed for reasons beyond my understanding when he found out I made his living quarters into a store… not that he was using it properly to begin with. The place used to be a disorganized mess before I showed up! Now it’s a wonderful place to live and, you know, make a fortune.”

“...This Link? Is he a smithy?” Link asked quickly, “Blonde with blue eyes and with a face a lot like mine?” 

“A smithy? Er, he’s been trying to get a good apprenticeship with the smith in town for years now, but something always comes up. He’s strawberry blonde, with some pink in the hair. Eyes are blue, but he doesn’t look exactly like you. You two could be brothers, sure, but he’s way older and he has a few different features.” Ravio replied, “He’s the Hero of Legend though, so you can imagine how busy he gets.” Link stopped walking, his features flashing in confusion.

“No, Link is the Hero of Men and the Hero of Four Sword.” Link argued. Ravio himself stopped walking, he looked back at Link and, of course, the bunny hood prevented him from discerning anything about Ravio. 

“Four… oh my! I just realized who you look like. You look like a dark version of the Hero of Four! He’s been traveling with Mr. Hero for a while now. He and eight others have been traveling together. They’re all Mr. Heroes from all across time! It’s so exciting, is it not?” Link frowned.

“Heroes from across all time… nine heroes…” Link’s thoughts were drawn to the mirror he’d seen in the Dark World, one that showed him nine different boys, his Link being one of them. He remembered the one with the pink his hair like Ravio had described. The incarnations of the Hero’s spirit. Someone was messing with time and bringing them together. Likely the same guy who had brought Link back to life in the first place, “Oh no… I need to find him!” Before Link could expand more, he heard a soft growling sound. Immediately he got in front of Ravio and looked around warily, his eyes flashing red so that he could see in the dark like a proper shadow. A giant moblin was marching towards them, with a spear raised. It looked ready to impale them both. Link wasted no time as he lunged at the creature, easily ducking beneath it’s spear and swinging upwards to knock it from the creature’s hands. His blade cut through the spear’s wooden shaft with a satisfying snap! And he spun his blade so that it impaled the beast. 

The moblin grunted, looking down at Link almost as if it was offended as Link withdrew his sword and stepped out of the way, completely expecting the monster to topple from a wound like that. But then he saw the color of the blood on his sword and swore lowly. The moblin roared in aggravation and charged at Link, who, on complete instinct, teleported out of the way and reappeared behind it, slashing the Pseudo-Four Sword across the monster’s back. It wailed and spun around, grasping for him blindly, but Link was the master of the shadows now that he wasn’t in the Dark World, which had been answering to someone else entirely. The monster wasn’t going to stand a chance facing a shadow at midnight, not even with that inky colored blood that seemed to make it stronger. He jabbed again before teleporting in a blur to the other side of it, slashing mercilessly into the other side. He danced and shadow jumped all around it with complete ease, cackling like a madman. It had been so long since he’d truly fought before. Even if it was a measly, though surprisingly hard to kill moblin, it was still thrilling to tap into his powers and wield his sword again like he used to when he was still a servant of darkness. The moblin, for all it’s endurance, died easily at the young shadow’s hands. 

“Well…” Ravio’s startled voice said from behind him, “I certainly chose an excellent person to escort me home.” Link sheathed his blade, flashing the merchant a grin. The merchant took an instinctive step back at the gesture and for a second. Link was confused. Then, however, he looked down and noticed his tuinc was back to normal along with his ashen skin, his violet hair, his fanged teeth, and his crimson eyes, which still flickered like they were deciding if his natural eye color was red or blue. 

“...I can explain!” He said quickly, but the merchant merely held up his hand, stopping the shadow.

“No, no. Don’t bother. I have seen much weirder… but uh, don’t let the guards catch you walking around like that. They’ll try to kill you on sight.” Ravio recommended. Link swallowed hard, quickly snuffing out and hiding the more monstrous aspects of him once more. 

“So, Mr. Link? What sort of creature are you anyways? That was really neat to watch! That teleporting trick is useful looking. Too bad I can’t market that though…” Ravio continued. 

“...I’m a shadow.” Link grumbled, “It’s… it’s sorta a long story…” The merchant tilted his head to the side.

“Ah, well, my house is just right there! See! I haven’t had much company, with Mr. Hero being off with the other Mr. Heroes and all my customers being scared off by big scary monsters. Why don’t you come in! I know where Mr. Hero keeps the ale.” Ravio offered. Link offered him a skeptic look but the offer of ale really had him sold. Sure, this guy was a complete stranger, but he claimed to know an incarnation of the Hero. Maybe he could be useful.

“Sure.” He sighed, “Why not?”


	4. The Cowardly Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravio learns a little bit about his new friend.

“And that’s why I look like the Hero of Four and why I’m looking for him.” New Mr. Hero concluded. Ravio hummed thoughtfully. The new Mr. Hero had quite the tale. A former servant of darkness created to kill Mr. Four Hero who betrayed Ganon and some sorcerer and was killed because of it? Intriguing. Certainly not the weirdest story he’d listened to from a Mr. Hero, but still… it was troubling. 

“So, Mr. Link, if you died, then how are you here and why are you in my humble era, which mind you, is several millennia after the Light Force Era of this fair kingdom?” Ravio asked. The shadow fingered the rim of his glass, looking very troubled. Ravio did not like that look. It was the same one his Mr. Hero got on his face before something bad or big happened. The look Mr. Hero got when he was about to go off and do something very dangerous and scary. This new Mr. Hero did not come with good news, he was certain.

A shame really. 

He was hoping to not completely inherit the house he’d been caring for from Link. 

“I woke up a few hours ago in a place called the Dark World… only it was different than the one I remembered. Like a corrupted… twisted variety of some holy world and not like a separate realm of darkness that shadows and monsters live in. And I’m usually completely unstoppable in the Dark World, since it’s the source of my power… but when I was there my abilities kept freezing up or not cooperating with me.” New Mr. Hero explained in a worried voice, “Anyways, I woke up in a prison cell of all places, and this poe took me to this weird chamber place, and I saw a mirror.”

“The mirror you broke?” Ravio asked, raising an eyebrow under his bunny hood. The shadow shook his head, looking grim.

“I felt no connection to it. I wasn’t brought back by a mirror. I was brought back by something far more sinister. This mirror… it showed me all of these heroes that you’ve told me about. It even showed me my Link. See… I think… Well, my mirror had been able to watch the Hero of Four, as long as I requested it. I think whoever owns this mirror… I think he’s been watching the Heroes very closely… and not in a good way.” New Mr. Hero explained. Ravio frowned, folding his hands under his chin as he leaned forwards, growing more and more interested in the tale as new Mr. Hero continued. 

“He’s studying them.” Ravio whispered darkly. New Mr. Hero nodded, his expression grave.

“...Anyways, the master of the mirror did speak to me, but I never saw his face.” New Mr. Hero elaborated, “Called me a traitor… which is understandable, but then he started talking about how Ganon and Vaati wasted their power in creating me. He vowed to reach inside me and tear apart the magic holding me together so that he can use it… for what, I do not know, though I suspect it has something to do with our blonde, sword wielding friends.” Under the hood, Ravio’s lips turned down into a deeper frown. This was the most terrible news. Someone had to inform the Links… but that was impossible because they were being dragged across time and Ravio had no idea when they’d stumble back into that era again. Perhaps Zelda could help? Or Hilda? That would require leaving the store though, and he had only done so that day out of necessity. The store needed business and he had been running low on his food supply. Thank goodness new Mr. Hero had been there, or he would have been stuck in that smelly tavern with a bunch of mean looking guys (who by no means triumphed the way Lorulens behaved) for the rest of the night with only his trusty hammer for protection. 

Perhaps he could send new Mr. Hero to the castle?

Then again, that could be a poor choice, considering he was a creature of darkness and Zelda was an unfaltering symbol of light… not to mention the whole, ‘guards would try to kill the boy upon discovering he was a monster’ problem. Though the latter wasn’t much of a problem considering, from what Mr. Hero had told him, the guards weren’t exactly competent enough to fight a teleporting shadow and win. Ravio wasn’t entirely sure if this was true or not. He’d never really been to the palace beyond when he’d used the rifts to get in and out of his home realm of Lorule. He mostly just used the rift at the back of Link’s house to get there those days, however, so he hadn’t been to the castle of Hyrule in years despite it being only a few hours north of him. 

“Well, Mr. Link, north of here is the castle, perhaps the princess-” Ravio started, but new Mr. Hero’s head snapped up in annoyance as his eyes flashed from blue to red for the briefest of moments.

“No offense.” The boy drawled, “But if she can’t even figure out how to stop these time jumps or even aid her Link in this mess, what, Ravio, do you think the princess is going to do with the information that apparently, someone is studying the Links and wants to attempt some crazy ritual against them using their traitorous shadow? Hardly anything, I would assume. If we want to handle this little problem then I will have to handle it myself and hopefully not get captured and sacrificed in the process.” Ravio snorted, shaking his head in confusion. Apparently even Link’s shadow was suicidal and reckless. Who knew?

“And how would one go about handling the problem? Hmm?” Ravio pointed out.

“Why, by finding and killing the guy who brought me back to life in the first place.” New Mr. Hero said confidently. Why, that was an idea, wasn’t it? It wasn’t like the last few times Ravio had seen his Link, he’d not been attempting the very same feat.

“You likely could not do that.” Ravio said plainly, “Seeing as you can barely use your magic properly in a realm that used to make you stronger. I find the best course of action in situations such as this, is to have patience. Don’t worry. I’m sure the Mr. Heroes have everything handled. They’ll kill the thing themselves and everyone goes home happy! Why even try to interfere with something the goddesses of this land have found works every time?” Once more, the shadow’s eyes flashed red, but this time with a deep, dangerous anger and not with slight annoyance. 

“Well, I can’t do that, okay?” He growled, jerking his face to glare at the wall instead of at Ravio’s over-sized hood, “I freaking died to make sure my Link would win. I didn’t basically commit sucide just to see another crazy person kill my brothers in a weird time war. I have to help them. If you're being honest about knowing a Link, then we both know this will take ages with how dim-witted they can be. Sitting on the sidelines and waiting for them to figure it out on their own when they are risking their very lives? I can’t do that. I’m surprised you can, with all this talk you gave me about how you care and worry about your Mr. Hero.” 

Ravio sat there stunned. He felt like new Mr. Hero had basically punched him in the gut, because his stomach twisted in guilt. His shoulders sank as he hung his head in shame. He really was the most cowardly hero in any world, but he couldn’t very well help it. The world, both Hyrule and Lorule, was scary and full of dangerous, scary people and monsters. Sure Hyrule was much better about that sort of thing compared to Lorule, but it didn’t change how things were and how Ravio didn’t really have the valor Link did to pick up a sword and do something about it. He was much more useful on the sidelines, offering silent support and giving the best advice he could. He wasn’t much of a warrior, so that was the best he could do. 

Then Ravio’s thoughts trailed off to the time he’d been jerked from his timeline entirely. Forced to fight in a war for the timeline of a world not his own. He’d gotten good with his hammer, but for the most part, he felt better waiting for Mr. Captain Hero to handle the problems while he tried to gain a profit by selling weapons to various soldiers. Once more, despite his position as Lorule’s chosen Hero, he was more useful on the sidelines. The battlefield was no place for cowards like him. 

“I… I am sorry, but I am not brave like Mr. Hero.” Ravio admitted softly, “I am but a humble merchant, not a Hero. I cannot even walk home in the dark without paying someone to take me there. Waiting is all I can do.” New Mr. Hero scoffed like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He got to his feet and set the ale glass down. Before he could get to the door, Ravio felt another tug at his gut as the guilt only seemed to grow. 

“Wait.” Ravio said quickly, “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to help my friend.” New Mr. Hero paused, looking back at Ravio.

“And what exactly are you going to do, humble merchant?” New Mr. Hero basically spat back at him. Ravio swallowed before getting to his feet.

“A minute, if you’d please.” He told new Mr. Hero before retreating from that room into a storage room. He grabbed all of his favorite magic items and stuffed them into magical pouches. Next he found bird feed for Sheerow and food for himself and stuffed that into a magic pouch too. After that he grabbed a sum of rupees he’d set aside for an emergency (As a wise businessman does) and pocketed it. He finally grabbed his trusty hammer off of it’s mantle and slung it over his shoulder. He returned to the front of the house where new Mr. Hero waited impatiently. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, looking very confused.

“Why, I am going to help you kill the guy trying to hurt Mr. Hero!” Ravio said cheerfully. New Mr. Hero looked completely caught off guard by that statement.

“But you just said you don’t fight. How exactly would you go about killing a person we don’t even know yet?” 

“Oh, I’m not going to be fighting, my dear shadow!” Ravio scoffed, “Though I come prepared in case that does happen. You’re going to be my escort. It’ll give me a chance to sell my products in new and more interesting places. See, you have a light problem, little shadow. You tell me you’ll only be capable of traveling where there is shadow or in the dark of night when the monsters are most dangerous?” The new Mr. Hero nodded skeptically.

“Well then, I will offer you my shadow to borrow during the day so long as you protect me at night and whenever it gets too… out of hand. I, in turn, can help you reach places a shadow would normally be incapable of reaching. It is the least I can do for my dear friend Mr. Hero.” Ravio offered. The young shadow looked like he wanted to object, but instead he held his tongue and opened the door. 

“Well then, where's the nearest and easiest entrance to the Dark World?” New Mr. Hero questioned. Ravio immediately chuckled.

“My, they don’t make heroes like they used to. You can’t just go back into the Dark World and expect to beat whatever this is in a fight. You said it yourself, Mr. Link, you should be stronger in the Dark World, but something held you back. It held you back. We must overcome this and learn more about our enemy before we do anything.” Ravio explained quickly. The shadow seemed a little bewildered by this information, as if Ravio knowing how this sort of thing worked surprised him. He opened his mouth to ask why Ravio had reached such a conclusion, but Ravio held up his hand.

“I served in the court of the Lorueln princess for most of my life as an advisor before taking up a promising career as a businessman. I know how to plan a proper strategy, Mr. Link, contrary to what I might have probably made you think.” The shadow’s lips turned up in an amused smile. Ravio could only imagine what was going through his head. 

“Well, to be fair, the Hero thing is new to me. I’m a former servant of Lord Vaati and Ganon. So as you can imagine, I’m more used to such intel being already available to me.” New Mr. Hero pointed out, “Now, how would you go about, you know, learning this information?” He rolled his eyes, gesturing dramatically as he pointed out that they really didn’t know how to do such a thing. 

“I’m sure if we speak with the princess, she’ll have a clue on how to increase your powers and help us find whatever’s behind this. She’s smart like that.” Ravio replied,   
“Or, you know, there’s also the fortune teller. He always seemed to know what Mr. Hero was supposed to do next. Perhaps he could help us?” New Mr. Hero considered before nodding.

“Okay, lets go to the fortune teller, because as fun as it would be to explain why the Hero’s shadow is tailing behind some random merchant to a Princess of Hyrule who does not know who I am personally, I rather not risk getting mixed up in some big misunderstanding. More often than not, people do not have the best reactions to a shadow appearing… something I used to enjoy, but now it is not exactly helpful to me at all.” New Mr. Hero pointed out.

“Wonderful! Follow me, Mr. Link, and I’ll take you right to him!” Ravio promised.


	5. The Path Through Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravio and the Hero's Shadow get a prophecy and some advice from a local fortune teller.

Annoyingly enough, the fortune teller apparently lived just north of the village he’d found Ravio in to begin with. That meant backtracking, and of course, fighting off a few more of those annoying black blooded monsters along the way. Ravio dutifully followed, practically sashaying with every dramatic and intentional step he took. His bunny hood bounced up and down with every step and his silly bird seemed to mimic the way his owner moved. Never once did Link catch a glimpse under the man’s hood, and Link began to wonder why the man would wear such a stupid thing to begin with. As much as it made for an interesting and attention grabbing appearance, it wasn’t exactly something that seemed practical. A hood like that had to give the merchant a lot of blind sides. No wonder the guy wasn’t a fighter, with that hood and long tunic, the man would probably trip in combat and slam right into a sword or something, which didn’t make for a very appealing presentation to the enemy. 

Whenever they came across a monster, Link did notice the man’s fingers fly to the hilt of his hammer, but for the most part, he watched silently as Link vanquished any foes. Once a battle was over, the man would kindly remind the shadow to fix his appearance and they’d move forward. A few hours passed, and Link became painfully aware of the time. It was almost dawn. He could feel the sunlight nearing and he knew he’d have to find shelter from it soon. His strength was slowly leaving him, but he kept the false Four Sword from vanishing and began to limit his magic usage in trade for the more human appearance and having a weapon for when the sun actually did rise. 

Finally, just as the sun rose, Ravio pointed out an odd tent in the middle of literally nowhere with a sign that Link assumed made the claim that it belonged to a fortune teller, though Link couldn’t read the Hylian of that era. He wasted no time in dragging the violet clad merchant into the tent and out of the sunlight. Inside it was plenty dark, as Link preferred it, with an ominous orb in the room’s center and a man in weird robes sitting directly behind it. 

“Ah, the Shadow and the Hero of Lorule.” The man said with a low cackle, “Right on time.” Link paused, glancing back at Ravio, who seemed to go completely still at the man’s words. Hero of Lorule? Ravio was supposed to be a Hero like his Link? Then why was his name Ravio? And why was he so reluctant to fight? And why was he here and not with the other incarnations of the Hero?

“We need advice.” Link said, shoving those thoughts to the side, “We need to know-”

“About the man who brought you back to life and how to go about finding and killing him before he does your friends any harm, yes, I know.” The man said with a greedy laugh, “But such advice does not come for free.” Link dug out what remaining rupees he had, offering them up in hopes it was enough. 

“Pft. No, more. For what I need to tell you, I need more than twenty lousy rupees.” The man scoffed.

“Why, you greedy-”

“I can offer you forty more and allow you to rent that book of Link’s that you’ve been requesting to borrow for as long as it takes for him to return from this current journey, once he is home safe, I will send Sheerow to retrieve it as I always do. I’ll even give you a deal on the fees.” Ravio cut in, “See, I would give you a full eighty rupees, but for renting the book, which I would normally do for a hundred, I’ll only charge you forty.” 

“Deal!” The fortune teller cackled. Ravio nodded towards his bird, and Sheerow took off to who knew where, returning in record time to the tent with a book twice its size in it’s little talons. Ravio gave the man the book and two red rupees before looking over at Link and nodding for him to give the man his own red rupee. Reluctantly, Link gives the man his money. The man immediately began to hover over his orb.

“Well now, you two are interesting. Perhaps a little more direct answer for such a handsome price and such an important mission.” The man decided before he began talking like he was giving a prophecy… not exactly direct like the guy claimed he’d be, 

“Hero of Shadows shall lead the five,   
Through time and space and will survive,   
To meet the darkness from which he came,  
And the path through time will call his name.  
Sisters of knights, son of the sky, and a child of dream,  
Will storm the dark palace and face the unseen.  
The Shadow, their leader, will lay down his life,  
And soon the Heroes will find justice for their strife.” 

Link blinked at the man as a sinking feeling twisted in his stomach. Lay down his life? He was going to die? While he had been dead only last night, he wasn’t exactly excited by the idea of doing it again. And how was any of this helpful? They had to travel through time and space as Ravio claimed the Heroes were doing? But how? As far as he was concerned, they were stuck in that Hyrule. And who were these sisters of knights? The son of the sky? Or the child of a dream? Heck, who were the five? Was Ravio one of them? He had so many questions.

“Wait… how are we even supposed to-” He began.

“You get what you pay for. Want a little more, then I need twenty more rupees.” The man said, “I’m trying to run a business and frankly, I’ve said quite a bit more than I probably should.” 

“I just need to… how do I find these people you’ve mentioned? How do I lead through space and time? How does any of this help me find the one who brought me back and defeat him?” He begged as quickly as he could. The man shrugged looking over in expectation at Ravio. 

“Mr. Link, you owe me twenty rupees.” Ravio huffed before handing the guy yet another red one. 

“The dark force who revived you is the cause of the time rifts and jumps. Because he brought you back and because you are both creatures of the dark, you are deeply connected. If you wish to follow after him or traverse the timeline, you must find that connection and use it. Once you’ve mastered this dark art, time and space will lose it’s grasp on you and you will be able to travel to whenever you please at will.” The fortune teller replied, “Now, if that is all you gentlemen want, I suggest you be off.”

“But-” Link objected, still full of questions, but Ravio impatiently spun the dark Hero around and began matching him to the door.

“Nope! You will not be spending anymore of my money on pointless fortunes. We have enough information. Thank you for your help, sir.” And he was thrust out of the tent… right into the sunlight, which was now bright enough that it burned away Link’s disguise and caused the shadow to cry out in pain. He immediately latched onto the nearest shadow… Ravio’s and melted into it. Darkness swallowed him and he felt like he was in a dream as the shadow seemed to lull him into a short, energy replenishing rest. 

Then, he was shot back out of Ravio’s shadow some time later, though it didn’t feel that long, fully refreshed and ready to fight monsters. He found that they were back in Ravio’s shop. The merchant in question was curled up on a little cot at the side of the room, fast asleep. His bird thing was nestled on top of the merchant and the man still had his bunny hood on. A small glance outside told Link that it was still daytime, but if he had to guess, Ravio was probably tired after walking around all night with no sleep. Link tended to forget that Hylians weren’t nocturnal like he was.

Link dared to draw close to the man, leaning over him in attempts to look under the man’s hood. He was a little startled to catch a glimpse of a few locks of dark, dark violet hair that matched Link’s own exactly. He swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he reached for the man’s hood to pull it off.

Surely Ravio wasn’t a shadow like him? That made no sense. He clearly walked them both back to the shop in broad daylight and clearly casted his own shadow, something Link was incapable of doing, seeing as he was a shadow himself. Still… Link couldn’t help but wondering… but hoping he’d found someone a little like him. A child of darkness who had chosen the path of light over the will of the likes of Ganon. Perhaps that was what the ridiculous and impractical hood and tunic was for? To help protect him from the light and cast a shadow like anyone else? Perhaps that’s why he hid his face so much? Because of his uncanny resemblance to the Hero of that era?

Unfortunately, before Link could pry the stupid bunny hood off, Ravio shifted and Link jumped back in alarm, retracting his hand and doing his best to pretend like he hadn’t been trying to unmask the man. Sheerow fluttered about the man as he shifted and Ravio sat up. He stretched dramatically and let out a loud yawn to match.   
“Ah, Mr. Link! You are awake as well! I rushed back here the moment you vanished… and my, I had not realized how dreadfully tired I’d become. I meant to make breakfast… but it seems the sun is high now, so lunch it is!” Ravio said as he cheerfully got to his feet as if he hadn’t been asleep only moments before. 

Oh no… Ravio was a morning person.

He immediately began gathering supplies for lunch, chattering a mile a minute about how brave he’d been to walk that distance back home all on his own. Apparently there’d been a small monster that he’d managed to kill on the way back with that hammer of his. Link lost interest pretty quickly and zeroed in on the meal Ravio was making instead. It was just sandwiches made from fruit from his garden and crisp bread, but it still made Link stomach growl. He sat down next to the man before finally interrupting Ravio’s chatter as the merchant finished preparing the food.

“So, what do you think that man meant?” Link questioned. Ravio paused in his work, looking up at Link.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about a prophecy like that. Though… Hylian and Lorule Prophecies tend to be very… um, direct about what they mean. We just need to find these other companions he mentioned, likely two girls who were sisters of knights, the son of the sky, and this dream person, and figure out how to jump the timeline as the other Links have managed. We’ll surely find the man who brought you back and face him, as the prophecy says, and the Heroes will have justice for their strife… basically meaning they’ll be compensated for the troubles this mission of theirs has caused them. Nothing much. You have to admire the ability of Hylian fortune tellers being able to make their prophecies from the goddesses, or the dead, or wherever they get them, so easy to decipher.” Ravio rambled.

“...The Shadow, their leader, will lay down his life?” Link asked with an uncertain and soft voice, “Am I going to die again, Mr. Hylian Prophecies Tend to be Direct?” Ravio fell completely silent.

“...Well… not everything in the future is clear or foretold directly.” Ravio tried, but that didn’t reassure Link about that line any more. Ravio, in an effort to cheer Link up, shoved a sandwich into the boy’s hands, “Cheer up, Mr. Link! At least we know where to start. You must have some idea on how to access this power to traverse time that he mentioned, correct?” Link brought his sandwich to his mouth and began to eat, looking thoughtful as he did so. He really had no idea. His dark magic had been so finicky since he’d awoken. Stronger and easier to control in the Light World, away from the domain of the one who’d resurrected him, yet still not as strong as it used to be. Sunlight had always been a burden to him, but now it seemed even worse. Plus, he couldn’t use his magic at all without accidentally shedding his human disguise, which was a new development. That would cause all kinds of trouble if he used magic in the wrong place and the wrong people saw him and decided to…  
Link shook his head, banishing those dark thoughts. He was weaker than he used to be, but he was still strong enough to hold off any greedy or superstitious mortals that wanted to extinguish or take advantage of his abilities. And so long as he stayed safe in Ravio’s shadow in the daytime, he’d be fine… only… 

Link looked over at the hammer Ravio had propped against the wall. The merchant’s favored weapon. The man stayed out of fights and was scared of going into the darkness or against monsters alone. There was no way he could travel with Ravio and leave him alone all hours of the day when there were still monsters about who would surely hurt and kill the inexperienced man. Link needed someone who could withstand the daylight and fight well. He needed someone who was good with directions and could traverse forgien lands without getting hopelessly lost. He needed someone who was wise, like Zelda, and could prevent Ravio and Link from stumbling into the enemy’s hands. After all, Link of all people knew how clever and dangerous an unseen enemy could be. Having someone with discernment was critical. 

Sisters of knights, son of the sky, and a child of dream.   
Hero of Shadows shall lead the five.

“We need to find these other people that are supposed to help us.” Link decided, “I’m not sure about the time travel part, but I’ll work on figuring that out tonight when my magic is stronger.” Ravio nodded, as if this made sense.

“One problem with that… what if the others aren’t from this era?” Ravio asked. Link blinked at him… he had a point.

“I mean, I’m from this era, but you are from the Era of Light Force. Who’s to say the others aren’t from different eras as well? After all, the enemy is the cause of all this time traveling nonsense our friends are currently putting up with, who's to say those needed to defeat him don’t need to be reached in a similar way as he has reached the Heroes?” 

“It won’t hurt to check in this era.” Link huffed not really wanting to learn a complex and potentially dangerous time spell on the spot, “Especially since as of right now, I have no way of actually transporting the two of us to another era. We check this Hyrule first, then, once I’ve figured out the ‘path through time’ thing, we search the others and begin our search for the enemy.” Ravio hummed in agreement, collecting the plates they’d been using and setting to work on scrubbing them clean. Link hadn’t even noticed that he’d finished his lunch. He’d been so focused on figuring everything out. 

“So, know any girls who are sisters to knights, sons of sky, or any children of dreams?” Link questioned. 

“...Zelda… Zelda is the sister of Mr. Hero.” Ravio admitted, “But… I do not remember if he was knighted or not. He’s in and out of the house too much to remember those things.” Link blinked, letting this information sink in.

“I’m sorry? Sister?” He asked in alarm as he thought about his own Link who was in love with his Zelda. A Hero being actually related to one of the princesses was a bit weird to think about. 

“Well, yes, but don’t tell anyone. It’s kinda a secret. The royal family kinda… don’t keep the sons of the royal family around for very long due to superstition. He’s the   
first to survive in centuries, and I’d rather keep it that way.” Ravio said quickly as he realized he’d said something he probably shouldn’t have. Link rolled his eyes at this information.

“And the Hylians call me the monster. Honestly, the hypocrites. Continue. Does anyone else come to mind?” Link asked. Ravio hummed thoughtfully. 

“Not that I… wait… a child of dream… No… no… that’s impossible… unless…” Ravio suddenly stood abruptly and went towards a shelf stocked with books. He hummed a little melody to himself as he skimmed through the books and began to pull scrolls, maps, and books off of the self. All looked well loved and lacked the same amount of dust that the other books had. Ravio gleefully set them down on the counter. Link eyed them critically. None of them were written in his Hylian, so he had no clue what they were… though there was a detailed drawing of a flying whale, of all things, an intricately hand drawn map of some island place, and a beautiful drawing of a red headed girl with warm brown eyes. 

“Mr. Hero drew those.” Ravio said nonchalantly. Link was impressed, Ravio’s Mr. Hero had talent. His map was so detailed and obviously a place he’d been himself and the flying whale and the girl looked almost real. 

“Koholint Island… the Island of Dreams.” Ravio explained, “It took me months to pry this story from Mr. Hero. See… There's this deity who lives near the oceans south of here in between the lands of Holodrum and Hyrule. He was returning home by ship from Holodrum when he crashed and was shipwrecked in a storm and was right next to where this deity was sleeping… and when deities dream…” 

“Strange things happen.” Link muttered, knowing the magic of the gods was strange and unpredictable. Ravio bobbed his head in agreement.

“Mr. Hero was pulled into the dream, which was a dream about this island, Koholint. On that Island, he was called the Messenger of Awakening, and was given the…   
honor of defeating the monsters on that Island in order to awaken the Wind Fish.”

“And let me guess, waking the deity destroyed the island.” Link deadpanned. Ravio agreed silently as the air turned mournful and heavy. The implications of a Hero   
destroying an island of people to wake a sleeping deity? Terrible. Link himself had done some pretty awful things before his untimely death that he regretted, so he could only imagine how a Hero born from Light likely felt about the horrible, yet necessary task he’d been forced to complete.

“Anyways… I’m sure the child of dream is someone from Koholint or someplace like it. Mr. Hero had been doing research on the subject. Trying to find a way to bring it back or save the people who’d been on it, with no luck, I’m afraid… but perhaps… perhaps his notes can help us find who we are searching for. He left a list of the names of the people on that Island… that could be useful.” Link stared down at the picture of the young girl that Ravio’s Hero had drawn.

“Who is this one?”

“...Oh… Marin. She… She was his… well… he had planned on trying to take her with him when he found a way off the Island, but since it was all just a dream… it didn’t work out very well.” Ravio explained.

“...She’s who we need to find.” Link decided. Ravio perked up, obviously a little surprised by this revelation. 

“Then tonight, we begin our search.” Ravio decided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... if you couldn't tell, I kinda based some of the fortune telling stuff on stuff you might find in Percy Jackson and whatnot, but Hylians do tend to be pretty direct with their future telling stuff. Like how the Ballad of the Goddess gives pretty direct instructions for guiding Sky or how the prophecy in Botw actually helped them find the Divine Beasts (Even if they did turn on them.) So my head cannon on Hylian fortune telling is that it's pretty straight forward whenever it involves the Heroes of Courage or anyone important like that, yet still finds ways to be pretty cryptic. Hence this fortune teller delivering an important mission from the goddesses to these to via a rhyming free-verse. (And since songs and poems are so prevalent in the Zelda universe I figured it would be pretty appropriate to do it this way.)
> 
> Another random head cannon of mine? I can totally see Legend being secretly good at drawing. I dunno if this has to do with A Link Between Worlds and the whole turning into painting thing or if it's just something about his personality that I've seen so far that screams "I am secretly good at art but will likely never admit it to anyone" I dunno, but that's where the detailed drawings of the island, Marin, and Windfish come into play.


	6. Was It Real?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's been searching for her dream hero for a long time now...

Her father denied every day that Koholint had been real, though he’d been there with her. She wondered if that was because the man in her dream had really been a dream since her father never went on that voyage or if he just didn’t remember. She had never called the dream Tarin father, but Tarin, which made her suspect he’d just been another part of the island. She’d managed, as her travels went by, to track down many of the people who’d lived in that dream and assure herself that it had happened and that they were okay.

Unfortunately, most of the people on the island had just been dreams… like a majority of the animals from Animal Village or like the King of Koholint and it’s knights. However, most of the citizens of Mabe Village had been real. She made it her mission to track them down and let them know that the people of Koholint Island were not lost. 

There was one person, however, Marin was most determined to find.

A soft spoken, but brave young man with an affinity for adventure. A boy with strawberry blonde hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. A boy who supposedly came from Hyrule. 

She’d never really gotten around to traveling to the distant kingdom, since she was more worried about finding and helping the people of Holodrum that had been sucked into the Wind Fish’s dreams. Plus, after waking up from that dream, Marin became a little wary of traveling the ocean, for fear that she’d find herself stuck inside of the dream of another deity. If it hadn’t been for him, Marin would have never woken up and would have died along with all the others. 

She remembered the story as her father recalled it vividly. 

She’d been out sailing one day when a storm caught her raft and tossed it into the deeper parts of the sea. At some point, the raft was destroyed and she was dragged into the Wind Fish’s dream just as she was about to die. In a way, the Wind Fish had saved her life by pulling her and the others into the dream, but it had also torn her from the life she’d known and from the chance to explore the world like she once dreamed of doing. When the Messenger of Awakening woke the Wind Fish, she was found on the shore of the beach, deathly ill. Her father nursed her back to health and revealed that she’d been asleep for several weeks.   
After she woke, she dismissed the idea of the dream as nothing but something she’d imagined… but then… she heard stories running about in Holodrum of others who’d awoken on that exact day. People who’d been at sea, then found, and had woken up with wild tales about a magical fish and a boy who woke it. When she realized it was real, she could not believe her luck. 

Thus began her travels as the ‘Child of Dreams’ as they called her. She wandered aimlessly through Holodrum in search of those who’d been in Koholint and told them about the dream being real and how it’s people were alive and well. As the people of the island were found, the question began to arise in them all and in every letter she got from them.

Where was the Messenger of Awakening?

Marin prayed with all her might that he was real. They all did. After all, those who’d lived on Koholint knew that Marin had fallen in love with the messenger and they also knew that he had saved them from the dream. However, he seemed just as elusive as the nightmares that had been keeping them in the dream in the first place.   
There were stories of a wandering hero from Hyrule that reached the ears of the people of Holodrum, but they weren’t exactly very realistic sounding. 

For example… a hero who saved Hyrule from a crazy man that turned people into paintings? Even for a girl who’d lived a second lifetime inside of a deity’s dream… that sounded a little weird. They also talked of an Oracle he helped save who’d actually lived in that very kingdom of Holodrum, but his whereabouts were always unknown. He either wandered a lot or he was just a myth and legend that Hyrule liked to tell stories about. No one was entirely sure. 

The ‘Dreamers’ as Marin had taken to calling the former citizens of Koholint, insisted that she go to Hyrule and seek out the Hero there, in the place the Messenger of Awakening said he’d come from. She always told them about the weather or the ocean and the dangers it brought. Immediately, they would understand her worries. After all… they’d experienced pretty similar fears, seeing as they’d gotten drawn into the Wind Fish via shipwrecks or accidents at sea. 

She didn’t want to be afraid of the ocean.

Not at all.

She loved it back when she’d been on the island, but now… she couldn’t help but wonder of all the crazy things that could happen if she stepped on a boat or raft again.  
Would she crash again? Would she drown? Would she forget herself again and wake up in another land that wasn’t even real? If only she’d been a seagull. Then she wouldn’t have had to worry about sailing to Hyrule. She would just fly there and find him that way. 

Time went by, and her father noticed she wasn’t as happy as she had been. The worry that Link hadn’t been real nagged at her. It bothered her to no end. She wished with all her might that he was real. He hoped he would one day come looking for her as she had searched for the others, and sweep her off her feet like in the end of a good novel. Her dreams always came back to him. To the sweet, caring boy in green who’d freed them from the dream. So, one day, despite her objections, Tarin arranged for a merchant to take her across the ocean to Hyrule. She had wildly objected. Her fear of sailing nagged at her and almost kept her from going.  
However, her desire to find and finally meet Link in person outweighed her fear of the ocean. She braced the storms and the waves that nearly took the merchant ship on their treacherous voyage across the sea. Soon enough, she found herself there, in the land of the Messenger of Awakening. She found herself in Hyrule. 

And now she had no clue what to do next. It had been easier in Holodrum, since she knew the land. Here, she did not, and there were no weird rumors running around Hyrule about people suddenly being found in the ocean after a bad storm and waking up from weeks of sleep with wild stories about magical islands and fish deities. There were, however, stories about a Hero that ran throughout Hyrule like a wildfire.

The Hero of Four. The Hero of Men. The Hero of Time… who apparently died in his quest… the Chosen Hero himself. The Hero of Legend.

Apparently, Hyrule having a chosen Hero was just a normal thing. Anytime evil showed up, a new incarnation of the Chosen Hero apparently came and dealt with it. Because of this, she was struggling to figure out which Hero was the current one and where she could actually find the man. Her best information yet was that he lived far north, in the center of Hyrule Field near were the castle and a few days of good traveling over land, but that information wasn’t definite and the people she’d learned it from warned her that there was no guarantee that he’d be there. Link really was a kindred spirit from what she’d learned. He preferred a life on the road and liked to travel and see new lands. Basically, he liked to do the sort of things she had only ever dreamed of doing. 

A few days walk North, and she found herself a little… lost. She was just past the glittering Lake Hylia, but she wasn’t entirely sure which path would come closer to where the Hero dwelt. There were signs for a village to the North West, but was that the way to go? She had no idea. As she was standing there, pondering the signs and wondering if she needed to go left, right, or forwards, she heard a cheery voice call her by name.

“Miss. Marin!” The voice called, “Hey, you’re Miss. Marin, right?” Marin spun around and gasped as a man in a purple tunic with a large, silly bunny hood came barreling towards her. He stopped in front of her panting a little before suddenly shoving a drawing in her face. She was a bit surprised to find it was a drawing of her.

“...Is this you?” He asked as he caught his breath. She nodded numbly, but wondered for the life of her how he’d gotten such an accurate picture of her. She looked over his choice of attire and began to wonder if somehow the man was one of the rabbits she liked to sing to in Animal Village.

“I’m sorry, have we met?” She asked. The man bobbed his head back and forth furiously, which looked a little funny with the over-sized hood and the floppy ears bouncing around.

“No, no. We haven’t. I am Ravio, and I’m a merchant that lives in a house just North of here. I’ve been looking around Hyrule for you for a few days now. Just my luck that I stumbled upon you now as I was heading south to the docks!” He said cheerfully, “But I have heard a lot about you. See, I rent my store from a man you might know. A man named Link?” She inhaled sharply. This man knew Link? Was that how she had her picture or how he knew who she was? Was Link close? Did he send this man to find her?

“Where is he?” She blurted, her voice desperate and her excitement bubbling at the edge of words. The man waved his hands in an indication that she needed to calm down.

“We don’t know.” Ravio said and her heart sank. Just her luck, he was off on his adventures again just as she found someone who knew him. Who knew how long before he returned and she’d be able to finally meet Link in the real world?

“Well… do you know what happened to him? Do you know how I could find him or how long he’ll be gone?” She asked. Once more, the man shook his head no, he did not.

“It’s really complicated. See, Mr. Hero is off on a quest with a bunch of other Mr. Heroes and will be stuck that way for quite some time. But! Do I have the opportunity for you! I know another man who is also named Link, not the same one you know, I promise you that, who is recruiting for a special mission to go help Mr. Hero fight the darkness that put him on the quest he’s currently on. He told me specifically, along with a lovely prophecy from a fortune teller I paid, that a ‘Child of Dream’ would help storm a dark palace and bring justice for the Heroes! Wonderful news, is that not?” Ravio said cheerfully. Marin blinked, trying to process this information. Link was fighting some sort of dark power? He needed her help to stop it? 

This couldn’t be real. It was too surreal.

For a second, she couldn’t help but wonder if Hyrule was a dream itself and she was stuck in yet another deity’s slumber. She knew taking a boat across the ocean was bad luck. She knew this would happen! She knew… she really needed to calm down. Link had told her he was a traveler. It made sense that he was away on a dangerous mission. She really had to stop deciding that the first logical explanation for something getting in the way of finding him was that she had to be dreaming again. 

But a prophecy and some random bunny merchant telling her Link needed her help?

That seemed awfully dream-like to her.

“Oh… um… I see…” She said, flushing nervously as she tried to keep her internal panic from bubbling to the surface. Ravio cocked his head to the side, making her giggle a little with how funny it looked with the hood. How could anyone have serious conversation or stay nervous when he was wearing something that bizarre? 

“Well, I could explain more if Mr. Link was here, but alas, he doesn’t like the daytime very much and prefers to sleep during these hours. If you would like, I can take you to my shop… which is technically Mr. Hero’s house, and Mr. Link can explain it all to you. He’s actually far less confusing than I am.” Ravio decided.

“...Why are there two Links exactly?” Marin questioned, “And which one is mine?”

“Oh, well, the one at the house, the one I call Mr. Link is not yours. Trust me, it’s painfully obvious. The one you know is the man I call Mr. Hero. Also, there are far more than just two Links. Like I said, it’s really confusing, but Mr. Link can explain it all to you if you would just follow me…” Marin heistated again, still wondering if this was just a dream. She however, reluctantly nodded and followed after the man. She noticed about halfway through their walk that there was a silly little bird following after him and mimicking his every movement. It was funny to watch and she couldn’t help but giggle at his goofy antics. He really was quite an odd man. He seemed pleased with himself with every step he told and her laughter only seemed to encourage his dramatic behavior. 

Finally, they arrived at a cute little cottage in the middle of seemingly nowhere. The sign on the house declared it was Ravio’s store. A smaller, more dejected sign to the side of the house declared that it belonged to Link. Ravio held the door open for her and ushered her inside. She was a little confused by the store’s set up, as if it couldn’t decide if it was a storage house, a place where someone lived, or a store. It was pretty cluttered and there were tables all over the main floor with stuff on them and price tags. It looked like someone, though she wasn’t sure who, had been working diligently to organize some of the mess, but it also looked like they weren’t making much of a dent.

“Apologize for the mess. I’m still transitioning this building into a proper store and going through Mr. Hero’s belongings has taken far more time than I had originally estimated. He finds the most interesting trinkets and items on his travels. I’m planning on selling some of it, considering he had too many of certain things and he doesn’t use all of it, but if you see him, don’t tell him I told you that.” This drew yet another giggle from Marin. That sounded like Link alright. Always collecting the most random things. She asked him once why in blaze’s name he had needed forty seashells and six plushies… to which he really didn’t have a response to. He just told her he needed them and left it at that. 

“Oh, don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” She laughed. She began to look around the room at all the interesting things Link kept in the house. Magic rods, boomerangs, protection rings, books, an array of bizarre costumes. It was like a home filled with treasure. Each item seemed to hold a story all it’s own on how it’s owner had come across it. She wanted to know the story behind everything, if only to know the Hero who’d once carried them a little better. As she examined a chest full of protection rings, she heard a new voice behind her that didn’t belong to Ravio at all.

“So, you’re Marin, the Hero of Legend’s dream girl?” Marin spun around, her face flushing red with complete embarrassment. She found herself staring down at a small boy who could only be fifteen to sixteen years old, despite being tiny for his age. He had on a dark tunic with a hood that looked like a bird. His hair was black and reached to his chin in length. It was tied out of his face with a purple headband. His eyes were a gentle blue and his skin was pale. On his back was a small sword that fit his odd stature. This must’ve been the other Link that Ravio had mentioned.

“Oh, um, yes! That’s me!” She said cheerfully. The boy offered her a small smile.

“I’m Link, the Hero of Shadows. I take it Ravio didn’t tell you very much about what’s been going on with your friend?” The boy questioned. Marin shook her head.

“Only that my Link was fighting a darkness of some kind and that there’s a prophecy out there that says I’m supposed to help.” Marin replied. The new Link nodded.

“Okay, so he told you something. See… it’s like this…” The Hero of Shadows then began to launch into a story about an ancient curse caused by an ancient evil of Hyrule called Ganon in most eras and how the curse caused the Hero to be reborn every time Hyrule had need of him. The boy then explained his relationship with one of the Heroes… the Hero of Men and the Hero of the Four Sword, and how he was actually a shadowy version of that Hero who’d turned to the side of light before his untimely death. He described his recent resurrection and then explained how the one who had resurrected him had all of the Heroes across the ages, a total of nine young men named Link, running across time in circles. Link then explained how, after speaking to the fortune teller, he and Ravio decided to try and find the three other people the teller had mentioned before hopefully embarking on a quest to kill the dark force behind the time shifts and help the Heroes find their way to their homes.

“Until the threat is dealt with, your Link, aka, the Hero of Legend, will not be able to fully return to this Hyrule… at least, not for a long period of time. I’m hoping that you’ll help us and stop the enemy. Clearly, you're the child of dream.” Link summarized. Marin processed the overload of information slowly. It sounded so crazy… as if it really was some ridiculous plot she had dream of. She was so scared that it was just a dream. She was also scared that it wasn’t. Because if it wasn’t a dream, then that meant Link was in real danger and unless she helped this boy… she would likely never see him again. 

Marin swallowed hard, nodding.

“I’m in.” She promised, “I’ve fought monsters before and could learn to use a sword, I think. I’ve been traveling for months and can handle a map pretty well and have seen my fair share of monsters. Whatever you need, I’ll do my best to help you. I just want to see Link again.” 

“Well then, lets see about getting you a sword, huh?” The Hero of Shadows said with a wicked smirk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, notes on updates.
> 
> I cannot really guarantee I'll be updating daily as I have been this past week. I'll probably not post on Sundays, today being the exception. I am a college student, so I kinda have to schedule things out and do my free lanced writing whenever I don't have school work. That being said, I will have enough time, most likely in the evenings, to post chapters, but I might not get around to it everyday. Just thought I'd mention this, just so everyone who's reading this can get an idea on when I may or may not upload. If I have major school stuff coming up or think I'll not be posting for a long while, I will be certain to inform everyone in the note section. Thanks for reading so far!


	7. Time Rifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hero’s Shadow expresses his frustrations while trying to figure out how to make time rifts.

“She’s okay with a sword.” Link grumbled, “But she’d more of an explorer than a warrior. Why do I keep getting people who aren’t necessarily trained fighters? I swear, if the next person we find isn’t trained, I’m gonna lose it. How the heck does one kill untold evils if no one on my side knows how to actually kill anything?” 

“I’ll have you know, I am very knowledgeable in magical artifacts and am very capable with my hammer.” Ravio objected immediately, “I may not be the most talented or bold fighter, but I do know how to kill a monster.”

“Then why the heck do I keep doing it for you!?” Link growled in frustration. Ravio just shrugged, as if he wasn’t entirely sure himself. In reaction to this, Link facepalmed and dragged his hand down his face in exasperation. At this rate, helping the Heroes kill the evil behind all of this was never going to happen. Marin, though fully capable of killing weaker monsters due to her travels in Holodrum, was not skilled enough to properly handle the new black blooded variety that had been giving Link trouble the past few days. Ravio, for all his flare, still wasn’t very helpful in a battle, though he had stepped in to help him every once and a while whenever it became clear Link needed help. Then there was Link’s powers.

Oh, how he cursed his shadow magic.

It was much, much weaker than it had been.

Figuring out his abilities used to come so naturally. He used to just be able to do so many different things. Now? Now he felt like one of those magicians who used their magic for stupid palor tricks. He’d slowly learned his limitations as the time went by, the most obvious limit being that he was burned almost immediately when his skin came in contact with sunlight or that his magic was weaker the closer it got to dawn. He also could not teleport as far as he used to. Before he’d died, he could go across entire countries without a second thought. Now, he could only do a couple feet. His shadow constructs were limited to small daggers, swords, bows, arrows, and small shadow tendrils. His shapeshifting still worked just fine. He could look like any incarnation of the Hero he chose, which wasn’t too surprising, but the illusion always faded the second Link tapped into any of his shadow magic. He could still hide and camouflage in shadows. Disappearing into Ravio’s shadow was a constant at that point. Also, there was a time where Link was unable to be harmed by any blade that wasn’t magic. Such luxury had left him, for he was testing Marin’s fighting skills he had accidentally gotten scratched by her more clumsy blade. 

Even now he was wrapping a bandage around the injury she’d accidentally inflected onto his arm that bled in a concerning inky black color. It was a bit frightening, especially since in his life before, he could be hurt, but he was incapable of bleeding. This little revelation caused Link to try and explore his new form a little more, and he found, much to his dismay, that he mimicked a human far too much to be comfortable. With a heart and a need to breathe and little necessities like that. He should have figured as much, considering he got hungry a lot. Before, he ate to regain energy, not to satisfy hunger. Now, he couldn’t seem to eat enough, though Ravio insisted he needed to learn to control that urge so that he didn't eat too much. Apparently, there had to be a balance in that sort of thing. 

Link risked glancing over at the red haired girl, who watched Link bandage himself from not too far off with a look of guilt on her face. The girl clearly wanted to help them, but Link had no idea how she was even useful if she couldn’t fight very well. Heck, not even Ravio was all that helpful when it came to fighting. He really was stuck with the worst line up of recruits ever. It was times like these he missed having monsters for underlings. They were even more incompetent than humans, yes, but solely due to their sheer stupidity. Other than that, monsters were great for fighting.

“You know fighting isn’t everything.” Ravio said thoughtfully, “Not sure what gave you that impression. The girl lived a lifetime in the dreams of a deity. Surely that must mean something. After all the fortune teller said-”

“Maybe he was wrong or maybe he was trying to scam you and I out of our money.” Link snapped, “Maybe this whole thing is pointless and we should just wait like you said we should do in the first place. I mean, neither of you can fight, and I still can’t figure out how to ‘find that connection and use it’ to ‘traverse time as the Heroes are doing.’ My powers are a mess and I-” Link raised his hurt arm, showing off the speckles of black blood that covered some of the bandages, “Am basically as bad as all the rest of those monsters, running around with… what did you say the Heroes called it again? Oh, right. infected. I’m running around with an infected body that this unknown evil wants to use to do who knows what.” Ravio clicked his tongue.

“Well, the Mr. Hero I know would not give up so simply.” Ravio scolded, “Why even bother calling me out for sitting on the sidelines when you yourself are beginning to decide to do that very thing? I know you aren’t my Link, but you are a Link, regardless, and therefore the only Hero of Hyrule free of this evil’s current time shenanigans that has some control over what may or may not happen next. The fortune teller may have been scamming us, but that one generally does tell whoever pays him what they need to know. I doubt he was lying. We need her, whether she be a warrior or not, and we need you to figure out how to make time rifts the way our enemy does. Preferably soon, seeing as it looks like we won’t be finding another companion in this era from what traveling we’ve done so far has proven.” Link slumped back against the tree he was resting beside, curling more into the safety of it’s shadows as he considered Ravio’s advice. He really was rather good at giving it, regardless of how strange and unprepared for battle he was. 

“It’s less me being annoyed that you guys can’t fight… and more me not wanting to protect two of you on a constant basis. I can’t do that. Especially right now, during the day. Outside of the measly shadows, I can't do anything and if you guys run into real trouble, I can’t do anything to protect you. If there is a reason we’re dragging the Hero of Legend’s would-be girlfriend across time despite how horribly unprepared she is for battle, I’d like to know why and I’d like to at least be assured that there will be someone else around that can keep you two safe when the sun is up.” Link admitted. Ravio just shrugged.

“She’ll get better, I’m sure. Don’t worry too much about it. Worry more about the path through time.” Ravio insisted. Link rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like there was much he could do about that during the daytime. His magic was pretty much spent. If it weren’t for the forested area they were in, he would’ve been stuck in Ravio’s shadow again. Besides, he’d been trying to make a rift or force a ‘switch’ as Ravio said the Heroes called them, in order to access the other possible eras that the darkness and infection could have touched. Unfortunately, figuring out how deeply connected to the enemy he was wasn’t exactly a walk to the park. Sure, he bled black like the infected monsters. Sure he’d been brought back to life by the dark force, but he still didn’t feel connected to it at all. In fact, he wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe that was the problem. 

He didn’t want to be that ruthless, angry monster of a shadow he’d been before. Finding the connection to this dark force was a bit too close to that. Ravio seemed to notice the dark scowl on Link’s face and was suddenly on his feet, clapping his hands for his and Marin’s full attention. Marin lowered the sword Ravio had lent her and turned her attention to the man while Sheerow, who had been nestled on the man’s shoulder until his abrupt movement, darted about in a new found excitement.

“Okay, here’s what we must accomplish in the coming days. Miss. Marin, you and I must become more proficient with a weapon, according to Mr. Link, and you, Mr. Link must expand upon your current magical capabilities in hopes that we may discover this path through time we were told about.”

“At this point you sound like you’re repeating the same thing over and over with no results.” Link grumped, “Learn how to fight! Learn how to conduct a complex time spell! Over and over!” Marin shifted on her feet, looking a bit shy and nervous.

“I dunno if this is useful or not… but I was inside the Wind Fish’s dream for a very, very long time. I woke as if time had not passed, but in reality, I think I was in there for years… he seemed fond of me, I think.” She said quickly, “And while he could never grant the wish I had asked for while in the dream, he did let me retain a gift I had been granted while I was trapped in his slumber.” Link’s frustration with his inability to figure out time spells or teach Marin and Ravio how to properly defend themselves melted slightly into mild curiosity.

“What gift?” He demanded. Marin flushed, looking down and digging into the dirt with her heel.

“Er, it’s silly…”

“Literally anything that could be useful in progressing this so-called quest we want to go on is up for grabs right now, dream girl.” Link urged.

“...When I sing…” She muttered, “In the dream, anything that heard me would stop, and listen. Even an enemy… My voice… My singing voice has magic in it.” Link stared at her, baffled.

“You’re joking… all this time I’ve been ranting about not being able to use magic in the day and not being able to conduct time spells, and you just now decided to admit that you know a little music based magic?” Link barked out in annoyance. She took a step back, heat rising up her face as she looked thoroughly embarrassed, as if it hadn’t occurred to her how important such minuscule information could be. 

“Well, I know magic like that too. I excel with musical instruments and magical artifacts.” Ravio pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah, you told me.” Link huffed, waving Ravio off and locking his eyes onto Marin with new ideas dancing through his mind. This opened possibilities. Sure, there was magic that Hylians could do using conducts like the rods and instruments they carried around, but pure, raw magic that was cast without a conduct? That was extremely rare. Only sages, spirit maidens, and the members of Hylia’s bloodline could pull stuff like that off.It was part of the reason Link had helped kidnap Zelda and the maidens in his timeline. Of course, there was dark magic, which was really common for mages and such, but it didn’t have the same effect. Shadow magic was basically just specific to races like him or the Sheikah, and therefore, was already pretty explored. But magic that could be cast using solely the voice of it’s caster? 

Oh… boy. Maybe this was why she was here.

“Sing.” He ordered. The girl seemed caught off guard by the sharp demand. She clearly didn’t know just how helpful her voice could be if she used it right. He was going to have to show her it’s value.

“Did I stutter, dream girl? Go on. Show me what you can do.” He motioned. She hesitated.

“What should I-”

“Doesn’t matter.” Link said, “But preferably something you know well.” She nodded, before lifting her head ever so slightly, letting her soft brown eyes slide close, and pursuing her lips to begin a song. She inhaled steadily in preparation, before opening her mouth and letting her song spill out. 

“Sleepers wake  
Dreams will fade  
Although we cling fast  
Was it real?  
What we saw?  
I believe-” She sang in a sweet, breathtaking voice. Link’s jaw slackened and his eyes glazed over a little in awe. Ravio, behind him, relaxed a little, and Link could only assume that under that bunny hood, the man wore the same awed depression Link did. Link quickly snapped out of his stupor, reminding himself that there was work to be done. They had timelines to traverse and eras to wreak havoc upon. He raised his hands, keeping as close to the shadow of the tree as he possibly could as he harnessed the magic that popped through the air while she sang.

“-Lost in dreams  
We sleep on  
Tossing and turning  
Stay with me  
By my side

Never leave!” She continued in a strong, unfaltering tone despite his own magic drawing from her own. He carefully reached into the connections he felt to the Dark   
World, and suddenly he felt a click inside of him. In front of the trio, a portal erupted, swirling with a twist of dark magic and wavering light. She stopped singing, clearly startled. The portal began to fade.

“No! No! Keep it up. Ravio… would you mind checking to see-” Link began.

“Me?!” Ravio interrupted in a strangled voice. Right… Ravio was probably not the best choice to check out the portal. Unfortunately, he was all they had, considering   
Marin and Link had to keep the spell going.

“Be fast, just stick your head in, and if there’s anything waiting to kill us, pull out and we’ll close it.” Link said. 

“Waiting to… Kill us?!” Ravio squeaked. 

“Oh, just do it!” Link growled.

“What if the worst comes?  
If someday this sweet reverie ends  
We too  
Our memories  
For real  
Fade us by?” Marin continued as Ravio timidly approached the portal and stuck his head in. He pulled back out almost immediately.

“It’s clear… but… um, while there aren’t monsters… there is something there.”

“What?” Link demanded as his magic started to dwindle and he could feel Marin getting tired.

“A war camp.” Ravio said in a dangerous tone, “A Hylian war camp. I… I recognize it. We can go through, but it is daytime there too. You’ll need to tread lightly and do very, very well to stick to the shadows. If these men suspect you as a Dark, they will kill you on sight.” Link nodded to show he understood.

“Okay, go through. Marin and I will follow.” Link promised, “Marin, we go in together on three, keep singing until we’re all the way in, understood?” She tilted her head in agreement ever so slightly, her voice wavering a little as she did so. Ravio jumped in. She began to reach the conclusion of her song.

“Dream with me  
By the sea  
We watch the waves crash” She sang.

“One.” Link said, and they took a step together.

“Hold my hand.” 

“Two.”

“Think of me.”

“Three.” They stepped together through as she finished the last line.

“And I’ll fly…” The last note lingered as the magic fizzled out behind them and their spell began to fade. Link blinked, taking in the surroundings that they now stood in. No longer where they are near a small wooded grove with plenty of shadows to keep Link out of Ravio’s shadow despite it being the daytime.   
Thankfully, they stumbled out into the cool shadow of a large canvas tent. Ravio stood waiting on the other side, looking around the unsuspecting camp as if searching for something. Soldiers bustled about and had surprisingly not noticed them or the portal they’d just stepped out of. 

“You said you recognize this place. Where are we?” Link asked. Ravio spun around to face the two. Something told Link that under that hood, the man was grinning ear to ear.

“Welcome to the Era of the Hero of War.” He announced proudly.


	8. The 'Hero' of Hyrule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young archer is summoned by the General to meet a group of strange travellers with an offer for a quest.

It had been an amazing day for her. While the war was still going on despite Cia, Ganon, and Phantom Ganon’s defeat due to other politics and various surrounding kingdoms taking advantage of the war to try and seize some control over Hyrule, it did not seem to make her spirit falture. She’d finally met up with Link’s camp, and though he was gone… off on some adventure with the Heroes of old that he could not get out of, she was still able to do some real good. General Impa had gladly taken her under her command after seeing how well she could fight. The Sheikah lady would always eye her skeptically whenever she made the claims about being the Hero of Hyrule in the flesh, but Impa did appreciate the help she offered in her brother’s absence. 

After all, if the real Hero of Hyrule was M.I.A. Who better to perform his duties while he was away than his twin sister who believed that she, despite not carrying the actual spirit of the Hero like he did, had the skill and perseverance necessary to live up to the legends of old. She knew there was this rule that the Hero had to have the spirit of the Chosen Hero, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t determined to get as close to being like the Chosen Hero as she possibly could. 

Was it a bit of a crazy dream?

Probably.

But then again, in a war like this one, a little bit of crazy went a long way. She was proud to have such an aspiration. What kid growing up and listening to the stories didn’t have the dream of being the Hero at some point in their lives? Only a select few, like her and her brother, really kept to the dream though. He’d gotten great with a blade and he knew his way with a bow, but by no means was the archer she was. She used her crossbows with a skill no archer at that camp had. And her skills weren’t limited to the dual crossbows she always had. She was good with a bow and pretty much any long ranged weapon. She simply had the sharp eyes of an archer that anyone she encountered on a battlefield feared. Both Link and herself kept to their practices, leading to him becoming a knight and becoming the Hero himself.   
However she, being the girl, was held back by their parents to tend to the farm. When the war had started she had been given the excuse to go off and fight alongside her brother, taking the compass their grandma had given her to help guide her to the castle where he was. She had… admittedly gotten turned around a few times as the war progressed, but her turn around had always led to little victories in the war for Hylian efforts. 

Now that she was actually in General Impa’s camp there was much to do. Organizing attacks on enemy camps. Delivering messages to and from various commanders. Aiding in strategizing for their next battles as her brother had helped Impa do before his forced departure. She felt like she was doing well in her brother’s steed, even if, technically, she was not born of the same spirit she had once thought she possessed. 

Even now she flew to General Impa’s camp with her pet and greatest commander, Rapheo, at her heels. She had gotten a summoning in the middle of her inspecting some of the bows and crossbows in the armory for defects. She would not have her archers handling faulty weaponry. She knew her brother was the same with the swords in the armory. They were both alike in many ways yet completely different in others. That was to be expected from siblings though. 

She couldn’t help but wonder why Impa needed her so badly. The soldier who’d called on her sounded a bit uneasy when he’d delivered the request. She wondered if there had been an attack or if they were going to have to begin the march south towards Faron sooner than they had planned. She hoped not. Changing plans was something they could do pretty easily, but it was always annoying to do with such a large group of soldiers. She gladly threw open the flaps to Impa’s tent upon coming to it, striding in with Rapheo not too far behind her as she loudly announced herself to the room of soldiers and the Sheikah general that stood at its center, glaring down at a map with flags scattered across it.

“Linkle’s here, General Impa!” She called cheerfully, “And Rapheo!” Immediately many of the soldiers grew skittish upon seeing the bird that trailed so closely behind her. For some reason or another that she didn’t understand, most of the Hylian army, her brother included, had an odd dislike for cuccos. She didn’t know why, since they were such darling creatures and wonderful assets on the battlefield. Rapheo, her favorite, was a golden one. She’d trained him well and most of the flock listened to his cries whenever he made them. She was glad to have him around, but everyone she came across in the camp acted like the creature was going to murder them for some odd reason. 

Impa looked up from her work, and Linkle spotted the map, seeing little had changed in their plans… only that one unit of the army was being reassigned to a new captain. Her heart faultered a little when she noted the numbers on the flag that was being reassigned.

It was her unit. 

Someone was giving her archers to a new commander. Immediately her grin turned down in a pointed frown as she tried to wonder why in Hylia’s name Impa would adjust it. She was the best archer in camp and the Hero’s sister. Taking her out of her post right before they planned on moving in for a battle was insane!

“What is going on?” She asked in a sharp, dangerous voice. A few of the commanders present flinched. No one liked it whenever the sister of the Hero grew cross. She was just as ruthless as he was on the battlefield, and even more so whenever someone had committed a wrong against her or anyone she cared for. While for the most part she had a pretty cheerful personality, an angry Linkle was still as dangerous as an angry Link… if not more so. 

“You’re being reassigned.” Impa explained in a very plain voice, “Do you recall Ravio the Hero of Lorule?” 

“The merchant with the hammer?” Linkle asked in confusion, wondering what he had to do with this new and annoying development. Impa nodded.

“He’s returned to this era.” Impa replied, “And he needs your help. Ravio and a friend of his are working on returning our captain and your brother to this era so that he might help end this war, and unfortunately to succeed in doing so, Ravio needs you to accompany him on his quest to kill the darkness causing the Captain and his companions to jump..” She blinked in surprise. Ravio? The same Ravio who had been there only a year ago? He was leading a quest to bring her brother back to the correct era? Off all the people Impa could have asked to do such a thing…

She had nothing against Ravio, he just didn’t seem like the type of man who would actively go out and try and fight some unknown darkness. Linkle didn’t really blame him for being reluctant to that sort of thing after some of the stories she’d heard him tell about what had happened to the Lorulen Heroes of ages past. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge in Hyrule, but Ravio had actually admitted as much to her brother at one point… Lorulen Heroes were famously known in that land for failing and dying on their quests. 

Apparently, after the Triforce of Lorule had been destroyed, the Hero of their cycle had started failing in the fights against the Lorulen demon king. With every Lorulen Hero killed and every failure, Lorule had gotten more and more broken until finally it was at the verge of complete collapse. Had it not been for the Hero of Legend, according to Ravio, Lorule would have died entirely. It was one of the many reasons Ravio preferred to be on the sidelines, though she did not doubt that if he were truly called to die to save his people, that he would willingly do so. Add the ever present reminder that most of his predecessors had failed to his many fears, and it didn’t make for the most proactive soldier. Ravio was great for advice, strategic planning, and getting rare and bizarre weapons at the most convenient times… but even with his skills using a hammer: a warrior he was not. 

And now Impa had him on a quest to help her brother face a darkness that Linkle and the rest of the army had only gotten sparse updates about? It had been weeks since Link had last come to their Hyrule with his counterparts, and they still weren’t entirely sure what was causing the jumps that dragged him and the others across time. Why was Ravio the one Impa planned on learning more about it? Why not Lana or someone who was better on the field and more equipped for time travel? 

“...Er, Ravio’s leading a mission to kill a time manipulating darkness?” Linkle asked, forcing a smile, “That’s awesome! How long do you think it'll be before he has Link back here and helping out with the effort?”

“He isn’t sure, and he’s not leading the mission… a young man who has yet to tell me who he is has been apparently arranging the mission.”

“...You don’t know who the man in charge is?” Linkle asked in bewilderment. Impa hesitated.

“Princess Zelda says we can trust the boy. She… she had a dream last night. A premonition of his coming and his eventual battle with the darkness that has distracted your brother.” Impa explained, “And I trust Her Highness’s judgement.” Linkle agreed. While knowing more about who this unknown leader was seemed important, Zelda’s trust in the man was always a firm assurance that they were not an enemy. That did not mean, however, to not be prepared for a traitor. 

“May I meet them, if you are going to insist I go on a quest with them?” Linkle asked. Impa arched an eyebrow.

“I thought you’d be more excited about getting your own quest with it’s own prophecy. You’ve aspired to become the Hero like your brother for years now. These events and callings are the markings of a Hero of Hyrule, but you show hesitation?” Impa asked, “I understand caution in a time of war is important, but you aren’t exactly known for… your tendency to do several double takes. That’s more of your brother’s job.” 

“It’s more because of Ravio.” Linkle admitted, looking a bit ashamed, “He’s not really known to actively get involved in something like this. I kinda want to meet whoever decided to talk him into it.” Instantly Impa barked out a small laugh. Clearly the woman had followed a similar line of thinking as Linkle when she’d heard the news. They all liked having Ravio around the camp, for the man was truly a genius. It was just weird thinking about him going on such an important and most certainly dangerous mission. 

“Well, I guess in that case, I understand why you’d second guess.” Impa chuckled, “Come with me and I’ll introduce them to you. Commander Kials, take charge in my short absence.” The soldier mentioned nodded and stepped up, continuing to debrief the other about the changes in their plans as Impa led Linkle and Rapheo out of the tent and towards the more residential tents.

They entered a new tent and found Ravio, as promised, pacing the room with Sheerow fluttering nervously behind him. At the room’s side, a girl who looked like a younger version of one of Linkle’s friends from the war, Marin, stood in a blue dress with a flimsy sword and scabbard strapped to her waist. At first she wondered if this girl was the supposed ‘leader’ of the quest that had been mentioned… but then she saw him.

She’d barely noticed him at first. He seemed to blend in with the shadows of the wall to the point where he was nearly invisible. He had a black hood drawn over his head. The black hood was connected to a black tunic. His face was masked with shadows, but locks of dark hair, likely black in color could be seen escaping the hood’s shelter. A scabbard and ornate sword was strapped proudly on his back. It looked almost like an exact replica of the famed Four Sword from the Era of Light. He seemed to shy away from the light that flooded in from the entrance. Occasionally he’d glance up slightly and flash blue eyes that glared at the daylight as if it had somehow offended him. Zelda stood with the young Marin, talking with the girl in a hushed tone. 

Upon noticing Impa and Linkle’s arrival, Zelda’s whispers halted. Ravio looked up, still sporting that bunny hood over his face. He likely had not told his new friends much about who he was and where he’d come from. It took a lot of trust for Ravio to remove his hood around anyone. To that day, she’d only heard of him doing it around the Heroes of Courage, mostly because the man’s relationship with the Hero of Legend had moved him to trust all of the Heroes of Hyrule completely. She wasn’t sure why he did this. Her brother guessed the hood made him feel safer, but she felt like there had to be a story behind it. She never did figure it out.

“Miss. Hero!” Ravio cheered, racing over and wrapping Linkle in a warm hug. Linkle laughed in delight at the happy greeting, pleased to see him again too. Sheerow swooped down from behind Ravio and began to flutter around and make acquaintances with her beloved cucco. It had been a while since Sheerow and Rapheo had gotten to play together.

“Ravio! I’m happy to see you again! How’s your shop back in your era been running?” She questioned. Ravio pulled away, seemingly very happy to see her.

“Oh, it could be better. There has been increased monster activity in that area and less and less travelers have been keen on wandering in my store’s direction. That is fine enough. Frees me up time to help me look for my Mr. Hero. Your brother wasn’t the only Link that was displaced because of this whole ordeal you know. In fact, that young man right there is also in search of his brother, the Hero of Four, who was whisked away on this time traveling adventure with the rest of them.” Oh… right, the Hero of Legend was with her brother. As was the Hero of Four. No wonder Ravio was willing to help with the matter. During the time he’d been in that era and fighting the war with them, Ravio would not stop singing praises about his own Mr. Hero and bragging to her brother about how wonderful the Hero of Legend was. Ravio made it clear that he looked up to the Hero of Legend, so if the man was in danger, then it made sense that Ravio would finally find the motivation and courage to try and take action. 

Linkle glanced over at the supposed brother of the Hero of Four. The boy tilted his head up so that the hood he wore fell off. She had only met the Hero of Four a few times, due to the random times the other Heroes would stop by and help out before they were whisked off on their adventure again. She didn’t really talk to the small Hero, and she could recall exactly what his features looked like at the top of her head, but she could tell this boy was indeed related to the man.   
Despite having black hair that was far darker than what any of the Links had, he shared the Hero of Four’s small stature and face. Heck, even the outfit he wore looked to be a darker version of the Hero of Four’s. The boy mimicked the Hero of Four almost exactly, save for the darker themes. It almost made her wonder…

“You can call me Link or Shadow.” The Hero of Four’s brother introduced, surprising Linkle a little.

“Um, I thought only the Hero was named Link.” Linkle said, “Are both of you named Link the way my grandma convinced my parents to name both my brother and I after the ancient Heroes?” 

“...It’s complicated… actually, the Hero of Four has many brothers, all named Link.” Link chuckled a little, “But we go by various nicknames. Mostly color coded. There’s Vio, Red, Blue, Green, and because of my affinity for darker clothing, Shadow. I don’t know what our father was thinking when he picked the names out, but it does make for quite the conversation whenever any one of us has to explain it. The Hero of Four is actually my brother Green, but he switched his tunic colors to match the rest of us.” 

“But like the Hero of Four, Mr. Link is very, very good with a sword and actually dabbles quite a bit in magic as well. He’s been watching out for Miss. Marin and myself over the past few days while we were preparing to make this trip. His magic is what brought us here in the first place.” Ravio inserted. Linkle looked over the darkly clad teen. He didn’t exactly look like someone who knew magic… and the size, much like with the Hero of Four, made you wonder how on Earth he got around to picking up a blade to begin with. Then it registered with her as to what they had called the third member of their party. Linkle spun around to face Miss. Marin, gawking in awe. She actually was a younger version of her friend. 

The Marin that Linkle knew had much, much longer hair that the woman had to tie back on a constant basis. She too had a connection to the Hero of Legend, claiming that he was her husband. That Marin was in her mid twenties… around twenty-five to twenty-six. This one, however, was likely only in her late teens. Around eighteen to nineteen like Ravio was. Ravio and Marin, surprisingly, had never really crossed paths in the war, which explained why he didn’t introduce the younger version of Linkle’s friend before he introduced her to the Hero of Four’s brother. 

It was then that it occurred to her that she was the oldest one there. Linkle had just turned twenty-one along with her brother only a few weeks ago. And yet for some crazy reason, the youngest one there, a boy who couldn’t have been older than fifteen or sixteen years old, was going to be the head of the mission. That wasn’t an uncommon thing that happened. In war, ages were important, yes, but warriors like Young Link had quickly proven to the Hylian army that there were some people out there who could fight and lead regardless of their age. It was still a little jarring knowing that a boy that young was volunteering for the mission, even if his brother was one of the Heroes. 

“Well, Mr. Link, Miss. Marin.” Linkle said with a small nod, “Pleased to meet you. I’m Miss. Linkle, or as Ravio has taken to calling me-”

“Miss. Hero!” Ravio said proudly. Linkle giggled at his enthusiasm. She missed having the guy around. He really kept morale high. The man was an expert at lifting spirits, getting people excited, and of course, offering great advice in the most desperate of times. If Impa was serious about her going on a quest across time with him, then she knew she was in for a good time, even if he still needed to improve on his fighting abilities.

“And this is Rapheo, my greatest commander!” Linkle continued, scooping up the cucco and pulling it from where Sheerow hovered. Mr. Link looked a bit horrified, wearing an expression much like what her brother wore whenever she tried getting him to hold her pet. Marin, however, cooed at the creature.

“Oh, he’s precious!” Marin declared, coming close and stroking his golden feathers in delight.

“Dream girl, be careful, those things are dangerous.” Mr. Link warned. Marin ignored the warning in favor of plucking the creature from Linkle’s hands hand cradling it fondly.

“Oh, Mr. Link, do say he’s coming with us! If Ravio gets to bring Sheerow, then surely Linkle can bring Rapheo!” She asked. Mr. Link looked completely exasperated.

“But-” He objected weakly before locking his eyes with her warm browns that Linkle knew literally no one knew how to say no to, “...Fine.” Linkle and Marin both cheered in delight. Behind them, Zelda and Impa snickered a little at the exchange, reminding Linkle that the two leaders of the Hylian army were still there. 

“Well, Miss. Linkle, is there anything you need to pack before heading out on this mission?” Zelda questioned. Linkle shrugged. She had her grandma’s compass, her crossbows, and plenty of ammunition. She was pretty much good for a long time. 

“If I think of anything I need, I’m sure Ravio will be happy to sell it to me.” Linkle joked, though Ravio straightened, taking her remark very, very seriously. 

“Oh, but of course! A discount for you too, my good Miss. Hero.” Ravio insisted, “Though bird feed I will offer for free, seeing as there is plenty in my stock for both Sheerow and Rapheo.” 

“Well then.” Impa said, “We wish you luck on your quest. Word of advice, before you go, Mr. Link?” Mr. Link arched an eyebrow in expectation.

“Don’t take directions from Linkle.” Zelda laughed. Linkle’s face flushed red from embarrassment and she clenched her fists, glaring at the two leaders, who were now cracking up, way more pleased with the advice they’d just delivered than they should have been.

“Ha, ha.” Linkle huffed, “I’ve gotten better!” 

“No you have not.” Impa chuckled, “But regardless, we do wish you the best. May the goddesses watch over your party and grant you all good fortune.” 

“Thanks.” Linkle huffed, still annoyed about the getting lost comment, “So can we go now?” 

“...If Her Highness and the General could, um, depart. I do this spell better when there are less people present.” Mr. Link ordered, already raising his hands to conduct it. She noticed, oddly enough, that he carried no conductor like a rod or instrument like what most Hylians used. That made her wonder what sort of magic the boy was actually using for this spell. Next to him, Miss. Marin seemed to straighten her posture as if preparing to sing. Zelda and Impa gave Mr. Link a skeptical look at the odd request, but did oblige. The second they were gone, Marin began to sing.  
Mr. Link began to conduct her song, and as he did, it was like disguise was melting away. His black hair turned purple. His eyes melted to red. But before she could comment on the odd shift, the portal appeared and they were off.


	9. Light the Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hero's Shadow and company discuss a magical artifact that Linkle carries.

As the portal snapped shut behind them, Linkle spun around and glared at the young shadow with a certain fury that made Ravio and Marin step back. There was no hiding it now. Ravio, Marin, and Link had agreed not to let Impa or Zelda know what he actually was. After all, in that particular era, any sort of monster that even remotely resembled a Dark was not only not trusted, but killed immediately. Link didn’t really consider himself a Dark, but rather the Hero’s shadow, which was different, but that didn’t change how similar his true appearance looked to one.

“You're a Dark!” She accused immediately, sticking a finger in her direction as one of her other hands reached for a crossbow, clearly ready to fight.

“Miss. Hero, he’s not a Dark.” Ravio raced to counter, “He’s the Shadow of the Hero. There’s a difference. Darks are evil. This man is not. He truly is the Hero of Four’s brother. He fights on our side and is an asset. We were only hesitant to tell you of his true form right away due to how creatures that look like Darks are received in your camp.” 

“But what makes you so sure he’s even on our side?” Linkle demanded, “He could be pretending to be good! He could be a traitor or-” Link brustled at the word traitor and he decided to halt her objections before she started rambling about things she clearly didn’t understand.

“I am a traitor.” Link said plainly. Linkle paused, gawking at him with wide eyes at the admission.

“You-” She stammered.

“I betrayed Ganon and Lord Vaati, the ones who created me.” Link continued, “In order to ensure my brother, the Hero of Four, could win. As a result, I was killed, and in my recent resurrection, now am nothing more to the enemy than another pawn that will be sacrificed to defeat and hurt the Hero I gave so much to protect. If I don’t stop the dark forces behind the time traveling your brother is dealing with, then not only will I be killed, but so will they, along with the rest of Hyrule.” Her mouth hung agape for a good few minutes as she clearly tried to process his words.

“He’s on our side.” Marin said quickly, “I haven’t known him that long and he seems pretty mean at first, but he does seem to care. He means what he says. I can tell.” Linkle closed her mouth and huffed as she let go of the crossbow.

“One step out of line, Mr. Link.” She promised as she scooped Rapheo into her arms and showed him off to Mr. Link, “And I’ll sic him on you.” Mr. Link paled, looking genuinely terrified by the threat. 

“Er, yes ma’am.” He agreed in a squeak of fear. Seriously, who just had a pet cucco like that? She had to be a mad woman to dote on it and keep it so close to her all the time. It was a miracle the thing hadn't killed her yet, and now it was going on the quest with them. Linkle glared for a moment longer before breaking into a wild, overly sweet smile.

“Good!” She said in a cheery tone, as if she hadn’t just threatened to use her cucco to assassinate him, “Now, what’s the plan? Where are we now?” Link hesitated, looking around. He honestly had no clue. It was night where they were, thank goodness, and there was no sign of civilization for miles. They stood in the middle of a vast wilderness. He really needed to figure out how to control the portals better. What use was time traveling if he didn’t know where he was sending them? At this rate, they were in just as bad of a position as the Heroes. 

“Well, we need to find another one of the five.” Marin said, “So far there are three of us besides Mr. Link. You, me, and Ravio. According to this prophecy Mr. Link and Ravio got from a fortune teller ,we will need me, a child of dreams, you, a sister of a knight, and a son of sky for this mission.”

“Though we theorize that we’ll need more than one sister.” Ravio imputed, “Since the prophecy stated sisters of knights, which is plural.”

“So, six of us total?” Linkle asked.

“Or if the prophecy only wanted us to find one sister of a knight and we’re just overthinking it… five.” Link pointed out. Linkle nodded, as if this made sense.

“And when we find these people, then what?” Linkle asked.

“Well… we are thinking that each of us have a certain role to play in defeating the dark force behind the time rifts.” Ravio explained. 

“For example, my magic combined with Marin’s singing lets us travel through time, making it easier for us to track this evil.” Link explained. Linkle folded her arms and looked troubled.

“Track how? Do you people even know where we are?” Linkle asked before waving her hands to their surroundings. Everyone in the group looked a bit ashamed at that moment. No. None of them knew where they were. They were lucky to have stumbled on a place Ravio knew the last time. This time, however, they had no clue. Linkle instantly snorted upon realizing that they didn’t know.

“Oh, and Impa had the nerve to tease me about getting lost! This is wonderful! We are lost in time!” Linkle laughed. 

“We just need time to figure out how to control when and where we go. This kind of magic isn’t easy you know.” Link pointed out. And he meant it. He was getting a headache from jumping twice in such a short period of time. He was more than certain that Marin was probably exhausted from it as well. 

“Well, there certainly must be a way to control it.” Ravio muttered to himself, “Perhaps if the both of you focus on a certain location… or perhaps an adjustment in which song she sings? As far as magic goes, different songs do different things. For example, you could learn songs that could help make healing go by faster or sing songs that can make it rain or songs that could show you certain paths, much like the kind of song we might need.” Marin shrugged.

“Well, I know a lot of different ones. I love to sing, but um, that one’s my favorite and the strongest one. It was taught to me by the Wind Fish.” Marin admitted. So in sum, it made sense that Marin used that one for jumping timelines, since it was taught to her by the very deity that had given her the gift in the first place. So if the song was the problem, then maybe he had to adjust something in order to control the jumps. 

“Well, if I’m supposed to contribute to this whole thing, maybe this could help?” Linkle asked, holding up the compass that she had hanging from her neck. Ravio inhaled sharply before snapping his fingers as if he just had a brilliant idea. Without warning he snatched the compass away from her and began to turn it over in his hands, muttering to himself.

“Oh, yes! I forgot you had this little trinket! Mr. Link, catch!” Linkle and Link let out cries of alarm as Ravio clumsily tossed the compass to Link. Link barely managed to catch it, looking down at the golden compass in bewilderment. The second it had made contact with Link, it shimmered and the needles on it began to spin wildly. 

“What in Hylia’s name-” Link stammered.

“It’s a magic compass, Mr. Link.” Ravio teased, as if it were obvious. Linkle gawked at Ravio like he’d just announced the most amazing news ever.

“Wait!? Is it really magic? So I’m not just reading too much into it? All the soldiers in my era teased me for following it, but it’s been in my family for generations. My grandma insisted to Link and I as children that it was something special, and I’ve been using it since the war started… though my brother is convinced it’s faulty with how many times I got turned around using it.” Ravio nodded, bobbing his rabbit hood up and down in enthusiasm.

“There’s no mistake. This compass is a relic embedded with light magic. It guides whoever uses it to where they need to be the most. You might’ve been turned around in the war a lot, but it always brought you to the places you were needed. Impa joked about not taking directions from you, because you get lost, but this compass is probably the most accurate navigation tool any traveler could have. It’s needle does not point North, but in the direction it thinks you need to be going. So, if you were looking for the castle, but there was a battle to the east of there, it would take you to the battle, not the castle. If we were to say… be looking for an ancient dark force that is creating time rifts all across the timeline…”

“It could point us directly to it.” Link said in realization.

“Precisely.” Ravio agreed, “But it might not. The goddesses might need us to do something else first. Regardless, in theory, Linkle’s compass could give us a way to control where we go. It would certainly be a step up from what our friends the Heroes have been doing.” Marin frowned down at the compass.

“Er, what have they been doing exactly to deal with this?” She questioned. Linkle laughed a little.

“According to my brother? Wandering across the timeline at random with no real clue on how to stop.” Linkle explained. Yeah, that wasn’t really ideal, but there was a reason Link had insisted on trying to take on the threat themselves. The enemy had the Heroes right where he wanted them at all times. However Link’s little group? The darkness didn’t control where they went at all. With this compass, if it did what Ravio claimed it could do, would give them their missions and help them jump to the points in the timeline they needed to go to in order to deliver the best blows against their enemy. They still weren’t entirely sure where they would end up, but they would have a lot more control over their situation than what the enemy was allowing the Heroes to have. 

“Well, in that case.” Link tossed the compass back to its owner, “Lead on, miss navigator.” Linkle gawked at him before flushing a little.

“But Impa just told you-” Linkle began to object.

“Maybe getting a little lost is exactly what we need to do to beat this thing. If Ravio says the compass is magic and will take us to where we need to go, then that’s what the compass will do. You’re the most experienced in using it, even if you weren’t entirely aware of what it’s magical properties were until now. That means you get to read it and tell us where to go.” Link explained. Linkle looked completely honored by this task. From the joking the Impa and Zelda from her era had been doing, he had to guess most people didn’t depend on the would-be hero for directions. Now, against Link’s better judgement, they were going to follow her into the unknown. She replaced the compass on her necklace and squinted down at it. She looked back up and examined their surroundings before nodding once and pointing.

“We need to go that way.” She said in a confident tone. Without hesitation, Link, Marin, and Ravio followed.


	10. The Lost One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young girl muses over the loss of her brother and kingdom.

She hissed as she drew her hand to her chest, cradling it as she watched the scratches grow red with crimson blood. Her bones ached and she herself was a mess. She hated when it rained. Climbing in the rain always left her scratched, cut up, and bruised from falling and scraping herself up on rocks. She settled her back against the wet rocky wall and carefully adjusted her position on the small ledge she’d stopped to rest on in hopes the rain would pass by soon. She clumsy found some bandages, and wrapped the gauze over her cut up hands, knowing already that her chances of getting over that mountain that day were gone. Without a potion to heal the new injuries, she wasn’t going to be doing much climbing. 

She glanced warily over the ledge she had settled on, looking for a place to safely descend. She spotted what looked like a good path down and carefully lowered herself before making the climb back to the bottom. As her feet hit the ground, she let out a shaky snarl of frustration and unfurled her pack to grab out her tent and rain tarp. It seemed she had no choice but to settle down for the night. Chances of the rain letting up soon were slim, at best. With how her day had been going there wouldn’t be another surviving settlement for her to rest at for miles. She really did have the worst luck. 

For the past three years of her life, that’s all it had been. Rotten luck and ruined settlements, void of any life. Only the lingering of the deaths that had occured there remained along with skeleton ruins of villages that had once been prosperous. She could never forget the day her father went to fort Hateno to help defend the village that lay beyond its walls from crumbling… only to never return, just as her brother had vanished from the world on that day. She remembered Purah knocking on the door after days of worry and distress. The town had held its breath, hearing about all of the damage and all of the attacks that had sprung up across the now ruined land of Hyrule. 

Purah told her that Link, her brother, was dead. Her father had also perished in the battle. She was the last surviving member of her family. The Calamitous threat had been dealt with for the moment, but the strike it had dealt had destroyed the royal family and the kingdom of Hyrule completely. Only a few survived, and the land itself had been reduced to a place of desolation. The end of the world had come, and she’d been hiding under her bed like a child while her father and brother, two brave Knights of Hyrule, were brutally slain in the onslaught. 

With the news, Purah offered to let the girl stay with her in the tech lab, but she refused. She abandoned the house and found herself searching for days in hopes to find any sign that the Sheikah had been wrong. In hopes to learn her father and brother still lived. She couldn’t believe she cared as much as she did, seeing as she barely knew her brother and her father had always been away, serving the King and preparing the land of the attack they had failed to stop. Even so, as little as she knew them, they had been her family, and now they were gone. Accepting that? It was very hard to do.

But in the days she searched, she found herself hopelessly lost in a land she once knew. Everything had changed. She went from village to village. Hoping to find refuge and information on her lost family, only to discover every village in ruins. Every home and family that had been there lost to the Calamity. She then discovered just how dangerous the world had become. Monsters roamed every field and ruin of the kingdom. Those guardians that had once offered so much hope scavenged the land tirelessly for any survivors. Anyone they caught within their line of fire was shot and killed instantly. She had to become fast. She had to grow clever and skilled with the blade. She wasn’t the only one. Any survivors or travelers she came across on the road now traveled armed and now knew how to use a weapon as intimately as the palace guards and soldiers had once known, though they would never be as talented or as skilled as the fallen Knights of Hyrule had been. They would never be what her brother and father had been: the best. 

To make matters worse, she learned quickly she was being hunted. Not by the cursed guardians, no… by traitors to the crown. They knew who her brother was. They knew he’d been the Hero. Because of this, they wanted her to suffer. They wanted to catch her and brutally kill her in the name of the monster that had murdered her family. So she ran from them. Hiding and fighting the best she could to survive. She lost herself again and again to escape their ever reaching clutches.   
When she’d meet travelers, she tread lightly, afraid they might be one of the Yiga. If she determined they were not, she’d help them, but she’d never stick around them long enough to learn if it was an elaborate trick or not. She never, never stuck around long enough to admit that her brother, the Hero who had been supposed to save them all, was the reason for the state of their world. His failure… the failure of the Champions and the failure of the King and Princess to notice the signs of the guardians turning… had cost Hyrule everything. Who knew if they would ever recover? 

Not that she blamed her brother for the failure… though she knew some did. No, her brother had worked so hard to win, that he’d left her behind. No, she blamed the royal family. She blamed her father for taking Link away from her while they were still young, preventing her from ever really knowing the brother she’d lost. After all, if Link had been doomed to die anyways, was it selfish of her to wish he had relaxed enough on his training before his final days and get to know his little sister? She had so many questions about the man who had been supposed to save the world. Questions that she, as his sister, should have known the answers to, but simply didn’t because the royal family had stolen that chance from her. Now she’d never know what sort of man her brother had been. 

She huddled herself under the tent, shivering as she watched the rain around her continue to pour. Her clothes were soaking wet, and she had no extras that were dry. Her map was ruined, not that it was much use with how much the land had changed with the Calamity. Her hands and feet were sore, and there wasn’t much else she could do but wait the storm out miserably. She hugged her knees and settled her head on top of them, working to get warm. That’s when she heard a cry of surprise… followed by voices. Her form stiffened as she eye’d the road ahead of her skeptically. Stumbling down the path was the oddest group of travelers she had ever seen.   
There was a man with a long purple tunic that went to his ankles with a ridiculously bizarre rabbit hood covering his face and a long scarf draped dramatically on his shoulders. Every step he took seemed to be intentional and as dramatic as the last as a little bird thing followed close behind, bobbing in sync with his movements. Behind him was a tiny boy who looked like death itself, with pale, clammy skin and a worn out expression. He kinda looked like he could’ve been related to her and her brother, if it had not been for his very dark hair, which was jet black. He wore a black tunic and carried a decorative blade on his back. After him came a girl in a pretty blue dress, one that did not seem designed for travel at all. Her boots were more fitted for walking, but she shivered in the cold rainy night. Her hair was red, though in the rain it was a shade darker than she guessed it normally was. She too carried a sword with her. Finally, there was a girl who looked an awful lot like an older version of herself. She had bright blue eyes and a mess of blonde hair. She wore a green hood and had a golden cucco trailing behind her. On her hips she carried two dangerous looking, but very decorative cross bows. 

“You there!” The little boy, who despite being tiny, looked to be her age... around fifteen, called. She stiffened, glaring up at them with a suspicious look in her eyes, 

“Where’s the nearest village?” 

“Who knows?” She spat at them, “I’ve been looking for one for days, all I’ve found is more ruins unless you’ve gotten better luck than me.” The group seemed taken aback by her bitter response, even the bunny guy, who’s face she couldn’t even see. The guy was good at being expressive despite not showing his facial feature with how dramatically he moved about. 

“Do you have a map?” The boy asked. She shook her head.

“It’s ruined… besides, it was useless anyways with how much everything’s been changed in the past few years. Not that I need to tell you that. How long have you been seeking out a village?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Er… a while I guess.” The boy responded. She just laughed bitterly.

“Well, you're welcome to set up camp with me. I’ll do my best to help you to the closest place, but there’s no promise I can find it quickly.” She told them. They looked hesitant, but began to set their camp up next to her little lean-to tent. 

“Well…” Bunny man began as they huddled under their own tarp, “I’m Ravio, the merchant. This is Miss. Marin, Miss. Linkle, though I call her Miss. Hero, and Mr. Link. The bird is my dear pet Sheerow and that foul creature is Miss. Hero’s pet Rapheo.” She gawked at them, her eyes locking on the one that Ravio had said was called Link… before glancing over at the girl called Linkle, of all things. 

“...Link…” She said in a startled tone, her voice wavering a little too much. They noticed her response, and Marin was quick to ask about it.

“Do you know someone with that name?” She questioned quickly. She scowled, looking away from the group. They were strangers. They could’ve been Yiga for all she knew. Granted, Yiga didn’t travel in groups that large… nor waste time on such deliberate disguises like the one Ravio wore, still, it was none of their business if she knew a Link or not.

“No.” She lied, glaring at the ground, “That’s just the name of the Hylian Champion. He died three years ago in the Great Calamity. I didn’t know so many people shared the name of the Hero, that’s all.” 

“Mr. Wild Hero.” Ravio breathed, much to her confusion. 

“Um, what?” She asked. Ravio shook his head.

“Young lady, did Mr. Wild- er, did Link have any siblings? A sister, perhaps? He was a knight, correct?” Ravio asked quickly. She glared over at him, her fingers now itching for her sword.

“...That’s common knowledge. He had one. Her name was Aura. She went missing days after his demise.” She replied.

“I see… How many years, pray tell, has it been since Calamity Ganon struck this land?” Ravio asked. She found that an odd question since that too was supposed to be common knowledge.

“...Three.” She said in a wary tone, “It’s been three years.” 

“Where was his sister last seen?” Mr. Link asked. She narrowed her eyes onto him. Why did these people want to know where she was? Who were they and what did they care? Was she wrong about her assumption that they weren’t Yiga? Was this a new and more elaborate trick to draw her out?

“Hateno Village, one of the last surviving settlements.” She responded drily. 

“Then that’s where we’ll go.” Mr. Link decided, making her scowl deepen.

“Why do you want to find her?” She questioned. Mr. Link fell silent as he looked with a wary expression towards his companions. Miss. Hero, however, was more than eager to say something.

“It’s about her brother!” Linkle declared cheerfully, “He’s alive.” Mr. Link facepalmed, dragging his hand down his face in exasperation. Linkle just kept beaming, while she stared at her as she processed the life shaking information. That was impossible! Link had been shot down by a guardian while defending the Princess. Half of the Sheikah Tribe had been to his funeral. They had supposedly laid him to rest up on the great Plateau in an ancient Sheikah tomb. Purah had been there herself. As had Impa, Robbie, and many others. They’d buried him. They’d seen his ruined body. Had watched him draw his final breaths. Link was dead, who were these people to tell her otherwise? 

“Impossible.” She growled, “Nothing could survive what he went through. Nothing.” 

“You don’t know that, Heroes are resilient! My brother is known for doing the impossible too, you know!” Linkle said cheerfully. 

“Linkle, please!” Mr. Link hissed, grabbing the girl back, “Ravio told me about Wild’s home. This is in his past. If the Yiga, the spies that Wild told Ravio about, are listening… if she’s one of them… we’ll endanger him here and this place will be completely destroyed. 

“Um, silly, you can’t see the family resemblance? She’s practically a fifteen year old me but with weird bangs, more scars, and a sword instead of a crossbow. She’s a sister of the Hero! This has to be Aura, she’s just not telling us for some reason.” Linkle huffed as she crossed her arms in annoyance, “Plus, the compass is flashing. I think that means we found what we’re looking for.” Aura reached for her sword immediately upon hearing the girl identify who she was.

“You are you? Who do you work for? Are you Yiga?!” Aura demanded. 

“No.” Ravio said cheerfully, “We’re friends. In fact, we’re better than friends! I’m a merchant!” 

“How in Hylia’s name is that better?” Mr. Link huffed, “Honestly, from what you told me, you’re the kind of merchant that would swindle a bunch of guys if given the opportunity.” Ravio seemed offended by this remark, because he scoffed, motioning to his heart as if Mr. Link had wounded him. 

“I would never!” He defended, “To accuse me of such poor practices of business is absolutely offensive in every manner!” Mr. Link seemed exasperated by Ravio’s attics, subtly moving away from the man before his eyes settled back on her.

“Aura, he’s alive.” He started, “We aren’t Yiga, but we aren’t exactly your average group of travellers, see, each of us come from a different era. Ravio and Marin come from the Era of Legend. I was born a very long time ago in a time called the Era of the Light Force. Linkle is from an era called the Era of War. We’re from the distant past of Hyrule… and Ravio? He’s met your brother. A version of your brother from the future of this Hyrule.” Her eyes narrowed skeptically. What did they think she was an idiot? People from different eras? That was impossible. Heck, meeting her brother from the future was even more impossible! Why? Because he was dead.  
She jerked her eyes away from them, already going to gather her things and forge onward regardless of the rain and the cold she would very likely catch from walking in it. She wanted nothing to do with these people. They were strange. They were liars. Everything about them screamed that they were all wrong and shouldn’t even be there. 

“Travel northwest from here. There should still be a village there, one that belongs to the Rito. I don’t believe the Calamity destroyed all they have there, though there are enough ruins in this region to prove that it got far. You can get a better map there. Now, good day.”

“Aura, wait!” Linkle objected, her voice confused, as if Aura not believing her somehow came across as a surprise. She ignored them, and continued on alone like she always did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I really debated on what to call this character, since canonically, we never actually get to meet Wild's sister due to the Great Calamity and the only evidence we have that she even exists in concept art. That being said, I was just gonna call her Aryll, like Wind's sister, but I realized if Warrior's sister is called Linkle, then there's really no reason for Wild's sister to have the same name as Wind's. As a result, I named her Aura.


	11. Where There Lacks Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aura realizes the strange travelers from before are following her still.

The nerve of them.

Saying her brother still lived!

It might’ve been the cruelest joke she’d been told on her travels yet. She tried very hard to forget about the strange travelers as she continued to wander aimlessly. Unfortunately, with only her thoughts to keep her company now, she kept letting her mind wander back to the travelers, who seemed so sincere, though they spouted out impossible claims. Still…

“He’s alive.” Miss. Linkle and Mr. Link had insisted. Her eyes narrowed and she wondered if there was something there to those two simple words that held true. If anyone would know, it would be the Sheikah who had told her otherwise. So, southeast she went. 

She took the long road purposefully, avoiding the villages that once had nested safely in the center of Hyrule’s rolling fields. Avoiding the malice and the corrupted guardians that seeped at Hyrule’s center. Every once and a while she’d tense upon hearing what she thought to be the footsteps of monsters, before finding she was alone. After three days of traveling like this, she determined that she was being followed. Her first thoughts were Yiga, but they were much more stealthy than whomever was on her trail. 

The only other thing she could think of were those travelers. The ones who had insisted that Link was still alive. She tried to ignore them at first, hoping to Hylia that they only started following her because they were lost. However, by the fifth day of walking down towards Kakariko, she became suspicious and skeptical.   
She’d been setting up her camp that night when she’d noticed a change in the air. A shift that seemed to occur whenever one who used shadow magic the way the Yiga did was about to appear. She’d gone for her sword, listening intently for their cruel and mocking laughter, only for none to appear. Her eyes found themselves scanning and watching the night for any signs of the traitors, only for her to catch a glimpse of Sheikah red eyes that glew unnaturally in the darkness. That had been enough for her to try and move her camp. She didn’t sleep for the entirety of that night, fully expecting for a clansmen to come out to kill her while she slept. 

The sixth night, it occurred to her that the subtle spark of shadow magic in the air had been lingering after her ever since she’d left those travelers behind. She wondered if her judgement on them had been wrong. Maybe the Yiga really were changing their ways and traveling in groups more. Maybe they wore more diverse outfits now to throw people like her off.

She became more determined than before to get to Kakariko. If they were traveling in groups now, then she wanted to get to the Sheikah before the traitors could complete their ambush. She kept moving, kept alert, and kept her sword in her hands in case of an attack. She tried to lose the followers, hoping that if she shook them off her tail, the problem would be temporarily resolved. They, however, were relentless. She could always tell when they were close by. Numerous times she would freeze in fear, thinking that they would make their move.

A full week of walking.

And not once did they take advantage of her being alone in the wilderness or tired from travel. 

It didn’t make any sense.

Finally, on the eighth day, the Yiga made their move.

She was packing up camp, bundling her bedroll and tent canvas together and shoving them into her pack. The shift in the air that shadow magic caused made her tense, but she expected it to be a false alarm as it had been the past few days. Then… she heard the undeniable sounds of laughter filling the air. She inhaled, twisting to the side just as two arrows embedded the ground where she’d been standing. Two of them. One wielding a sickle and another wielding a bow.

Not four? Where were their friends?

“Oh, now you show yourselves!” She snarled, sliding a shield on her arm and grabbing her sword. She charged, swinging angrily. She knew they had been lying! She knew it had been a trick to make her think Link was somehow still out there! It had all been a trick.

Her brother was dead.

And it was their master’s fault.

How twisted were they to try and make her hope a little right before they killed her? The monsters. 

The sickle wielding footsoldier moved to avoid her weapon laughing as he did so. The archer teleported out of the way, reappearing behind her with bow ready. She caught his arrows with her shield before spinning quickly out of the way from a slash from the sickle wielder. The sickle wielder went in close and she caught the curve of his blade with her own sword, flicking her wrists knowingly as she wrenched the weapon from his hands and slashed back towards him. A puff of smoke and he was elsewhere, the sickle was gone, left abandoned on the ground and the assassin's knife was in his hands.

He was going to have to get in much closer if he wanted to use that. She wasn’t going to let him. She eyes the archer critically as he advances. Loading more arrows on his string and pulling it taunt. She kept her shield ready. She hated archers. She didn’t have the same eye as her brother was said to have. She couldn’t do long range very well. She did best with a sword and shield. Her brother had been that way too, according to Purah, but Impa said that the boy had been one of the best archers in Hyrule, next to the Champion Revali. Rumor was the boy could halt time long enough to make the perfect shot the way he sometimes seemed to still time long enough to deliver a dozen blows in only an instant. 

Aura couldn’t do that, so she made do with what she had. She charged the archer, trying to get in close. He backflipped over the arch of her weapon cackling madly as she did. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted the knife wielder trying to move in from behind while the archer kept her distracted. Two arrows were loaded onto the archer’s bow mid flip as he readied to release. Her shield was thrown up in anticipation and she tried to bat the knife wielder away with her sword.   
Arrows suddenly thawked in rapid succession into the archer, causing Aura to falter in confusion for just a split second. The knife wielder took advantage, vanishing in a puff of smoke and appearing directly above her, his blade aimed down. She gasped, rolling out of the way, and the Yiga clansmen went limp midair before crumbling to the ground… dead, with green feathered arrows littering his body. 

Aura spun around, not entirely sure what to expect. A Sheikah? A Hylian traveler? Maybe even a Rito wanderer? Then her eyes met joyfull blues. There stood Miss. Linkle, brandishing her crossbows. 

“Heya, little sis!” She cheered, “Saw you were in trouble, so I thought I’d help out!”

Little sis? She wasn’t related to this delusional woman!

“I had it.” Aura grumbled, sheathing her blade. Linkle simply shrugged.

“I know, but I thought I’d help anyways, us sisters to the Hero have to stick together, eh?” She offered. 

“Where are your friends?” Aura huffed.

“They aren’t warriors, er, well, Ravs and Marin aren’t. Mr. Link is one, but he doesn’t fight well in the daytime.” Linkle replied, “They are over there.” She pointed over to some trees in the distance. 

“Why are you still following me?” Aura asked, “If you aren’t Yiga, why in Din’s name are you still following me?!” Linkle’s grin only wided.

“We already told you, he’s still alive. We need your help. He needs your help. We didn’t explain very well earlier… I’m just a little bit more used to time traveling and other dimensions.”

“You do realize how crazy you sound right now, right?” Aura pointed out. 

“Aura, just… listen. Just for one second, and I promise, it’ll all make sense.” Linkle begged. Aura was going to scoff and leave Linkle where she stood again, even though she suspected the crazy girl and her equally crazy companions would follow her anyways. Then she saw the absolute sincerity on Linkle’s face. 

“You have five minutes.” Aura snapped. Linkle nodded, like this made sense.

“...Have you ever heard of the Curse of Demise?” Linkle asked.

“You mean the whole thing behind why ever so often the Hero, aka, my brother, is reincarnated to kill the Calamity Ganon?” Aura asked, “Like, um… the Hero of Twilight or the Hero of Time from the stories father told me as a girl?” 

“Yes! Exactly like that!” Linkle said, “Well, Aura, my brother, just like yours, is one of the Heroes from the curse. There is some… dark force, not Ganon, from what Mr. Link is telling us, but a powerful dark force all the same, that is jerking the Heroes from across the eras out of their timelines and forcing them to wander across time together.” 

“Tell me how this doesn’t sound crazy again?” Aura asked. 

“Shush! Anyways, Mr. Link is the Shadow of the Hero of Men. Basically, in a nutshell they’re brothers, but one’s made entirely from dark magic and the other is the chosen Hero of that Era. Mr. Link is using his own magical abilities to instigate a quest to hopefully track down this dark force and kill it, thus freeing the Heroes of Courage of their little time adventure.”

“Still not hearing the not crazy part. Like, how this is even possible, for one, and also why you think my brother isn’t dead because of this. He wasn’t jerked out of the time-stream, Linkle, he was shot down and murdered by a guardian while protecting the princess.” Aura pointed out, waving her arms dramatically as if that would somehow prove her point. 

“He was.” Linkle replied, her voice suddenly became solemn, “But Ravio and I have both met him. A version of him from your future. We know it’s him, because he has the scars to prove it. His half of his body is entirely covered in burn marks from the guardian. He has the same tunic, and most importantly… Aura, the man we met has the Sheikah Slate.” Aura was caught off guard by this statement. He had the Sheikah Slate? But Purah had said that it had been destroyed in the attack.

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” Aura objected to her voice breaking.

“We don’t really know all the details either actually. When I asked him about it the last time I saw him, he said something about a shrine, sleeping for a very long time, and memory loss.” Linkle continued. Aura’s heart sank.

Memory loss? Was that why her brother had vanished?

Not because he died, but because he had no memory?

“Ravio didn’t get too far with him when he met the man either… I’ll be honest…” Linkle paused to snicker a little, “I think he was more interested in trying to make a profit out of nine Heroes suddenly appearing in his shop one day. He did learn a few things about the Yiga and the Calamity, but for the most part, that’s as much as we know without directly asking him his life story right now.” Aura felt like she was on the verge of collapsing. Could there be some truth to this? Was he really alive?

“...I have to get to the bottom of this.” Aura decided, turning on her heels to continue her trek towards Kakariko. Linkle stopped her, putting her hand on her shoulder.

“Not without us.” Linkle insisted, “I know you don’t know us, but trust me, when you learn that we aren’t lying… we’re the only way you might actually get to see him again.” Aura didn’t trust them.

But one glance back at the fallen Yiga Linkle had slain so easily proved that they weren’t her enemy. With a reluctant heart, Aura timidly nodded.

“Get your friends. We leave immediately.” Aura ordered.


	12. Speak Truly.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to Kakariko Village.

If he had to give his opinion on Aura, it was that she was way too skittish for a fifteen year old girl. He got that she lived in a post apocalyptic Hyrule and all that, but something told him, based on some of the conversations he and Ravio had about her over the past week, that girls her age should not automatically assume they are being constantly tracked but Sheikah magic wielding traitorous assassins. 

But, really, he didn’t have much to say about that, considering his Link had been only, like, twelve when he’d first fought Vaati alongside the mimish, and Vio had been literally a fourteen year old boy whenever he’d gone and pulled that devious stunt he’d pulled on Link. Then there was also the fact that he was absolutely certain and counting on the day where the creepy guy who’d tried to sacrifice him for his magic was probably gonna try and get him back. Sheikah assassins chasing them? The least of his worries. What Link considered normal was kinda skewed. 

Ravio, however, insisted, that while in Lorule, the place of the merchant’s birth, it was common for children to have such nervous habits and worried behavior due to the large number of muggings, kidnappings, and murders that apparently happened in that realm with no regulation, Hyrule was not supposed to be so dangerous. Therefore, Ravio had concluded that the children of Hyrule, with the exception of, unfortunately, the Hero, were supposed to be a lot less burdened or frightened by new or unusual things. Reluctantly, Link chose to agree with this assessment. 

He wouldn’t have been so worried for Aura, seeing as their claims were kinda far-fetched and there were crazy people out there that would probably want her dead because of her brother, if it had not been for her scars. Linkle had not been kidding when she described Aura as a smaller, younger version of herself, but with more scars. Aura’s hair was longer than Linkle’s, still cut short, but just long enough for her to tie it back out of her way. She wore what Link expected was standard for travelers in that world, and carried a pack full of her gear and belongings with her everywhere. She had a dinky sword that, to the skilled eye, looked in very bad need of repair. Link may not have been a true smithy like the Hero of Men, but he was the guy’s counterpart and knew the trade well enough to know that she needed a better sword and a far better shield than the worn wooden one she was lugging around. How she killed monsters with those objects without completely breaking them was beyond him.

However, the most jarring characteristic about Aura really was the scars. 

From what Link could guess, the girl had been forced to teach herself how to fight to keep monsters and Yiga at bay, but her beginnings had not been exactly easy. Deep gnashes that were healed over and whitened from the years littered her arms and legs. They looked like they came from a variety of things: swords, fires, animals, and even, worryingly enough intentional daggers. The most notable ones, scarily enough, were not found on her arms or legs at all, but directly on her face. A faint, but ever present slash mark ran across the entirety of her face in a diagonal slash from the top right down to the left to where her chin was. It was very old, perhaps even being from her fast days after the Great Calamity. Still… the injury she had to have sustained to get such a brutal marking? Well, Link was glad he had not been there to witness it. He suspected most of the scars were the result of wildlife encounters gone wrong, fighting a monster and miscalculating in her footwork, or those fools, the Yiga, who as far as Link was concerned, needed to all be straight up murdered for harassing a little girl like Aura. The fact that Aura had more scars than Linkle, a lady who literally lived in the middle of a war zone and commanded a batalon of archers and cuccos, was not okay by any means.

He had startled Aura, that first nightfall they officially traveled with her as one of their party. The moment dusk fell, Link jumped out of Ravio’s shadow, fully refreshed and in a marvelous mood. She’d freaked out and proceeded to try and run him through with that poorly crafted weapon she wielded. He easily avoided her weapon, offering her an irritated glare. 

In all honesty, he hadn’t exactly expected her to be there. He’s been sleeping in the shadows for most of the day and had completely missed the point where she decided to travel with them. Link asked why someone didn’t warn her that he did the shadow thing, and they insisted that they did, but she still reacted like he was about to kill her when he reappeared. 

When all was straightened out and she was no longer determined to stab him for jumping in and out of the shadows, she announced that they were enroute to one of the last settlements left over after the Great Calamity. A small village that served as the capital for the Sheikah Tribe called Kakariko village. She explained that they would reach the village by midnight. Apparently, she needed to have a long conversation with two of their leaders, two sisters named Impa and Purah.  
They were scheduled to arrive there about midnight that night. The time of night that Link loved the most. His magic was strongest at that hour. He never really knew why. It had been that way before he’d died too. It must’ve just been a shadow thing. 

Linkle and Marin attempted the whole evening to get Aura to tell them about herself, but the blonde swordswoman made it clear that she was not in the mood for a conversation. She kept ignoring the girl’s curious questions and surging onwards towards the Sheikah village. They all had to scramble to keep up with Aura, for the girl could be fast when she wanted to be. Finally, after many hours of non-stop walking, they began to see signs of approaching their destination. A large canyon with ribbons and fabric streamers of royal violet and crimson red. Stone statues bearing the image of a toad with ever watching, blood red eyes painted on them.   
The canyon gave way to a clearing, and even Link had to gasp and hold his breath when he saw the settlement.

No wonder it had survived the Calamity. It was nestled safely in a crevice of earth, surrounded at all angles by large towers of stone. Mountains that served as a natural wall of defense from outside invaders. Little huts and houses littered the area. Small gardens dotted the village, bearing plums, pumpkins, carrots, and many other vegetables. Despite the mystic arts of shadow magic being lost or barely used by this particular generation of the Sheikah, Link could still feel the innate connections they had with shadow magic buzzing in the air. 

In Link’s time, the Sheikah weren’t really that easy to come by. They were illusive, and many people had feared them and accused them of being nothing more than servants of darkness. But if dying to save Hyrule had taught Link anything, Shadow magic wasn’t exactly evil, though he supposed Ganon and Vaati had intended for him to use it as if it were. Dark magic, now that was evil. But shadow magic? It was something special. Those good, like the Sheikah or Link, could use it. Those evil, like the Yiga and Vaati, could also use it. It did not favor the light magic of the Hylian bloodline nor the dark magic of Ganon. Shadow magic was fleeting. It was illusive and did not always choose a side. Sometimes it would serve Ganon. Sometimes it would serve Hylia. Sometimes, it would do both. Sometimes it would do neither.   
Link being made completely from this magic by Ganon’s own hands? Well, Ganon had not realized quite what he’d created when he used the Dark Mirror to animate the Hero’s Shadow. Link was certain if he had realized how finicky shadow magic was… if he had realized that it would favor the side it cared for the most, then something told Link that he would have never been born… or, if he had been born still, Ganon would have decided to create him from something more predictable. Something that he could control without question. He would’ve created a dark version of the Hero from dark magic. He would not have created a shadow. 

“This place is…” Marin said in awe as she pulled Link out of his thoughts and the energy he felt just by being in the same town as an entire race of potential shadow users.

“Magic.” He muttered, “Shadow magic. It clings to this place. Warm and safe, protecting all who live here. But… it’s really faint. It feels like the Sheikah haven’t used their true gifts to their fullest potential in a very, very long time.” Aura flashed Link a look of warning.

“A very long time ago, Sheikah magic was outlawed. It was… dangerous and unpredictable. This caused a divide in the Tribe. Those who wished to follow the king’s wishes and those who…”

“Would not, and therefore hailed Ganon to make their magic stronger.” Link muttered, “Yeah, I could see the appeal. The Yiga might be terrible, but Ganon… the strength he offers is rather addicting. I would know. Even so, that’s no excuse to ban shadow magic entirely, though. It’s not dark magic. It’s just not light magic. It can still do a lot of good.” 

“Yeah, well the last King… he realized that the sheikah tribe and their ancient magic and technology could have it’s uses. That’s why he unburied the divine beasts. That’s why he recovered the guard…” Her voice, which had been harsh and demanding the entire evening, faltered as her voice broke for a second, “...The guardians.” She gripped the edge of her tunic, glaring down at the little town below them.

“You saw where that magic got us.” She hissed, “He was a fool.” Link tried not to take offense to Aura’s clear distaste of shadow magic, considering it being corrupted and perverted by Ganon had destroyed her world and family, but what part of ‘shadow magic isn’t bad’ did she not get? Her features flashed an array of emotions, before finally settling on her usual scowl. 

“Come on. I need to get to the bottom of this.” Aura decided. She continued her march down into the village, towards a grand house that rested under a breath-taking waterfall. Link hiestated, looking down at his appearance. He still had not shifted back to his more Hylian form. He looked then down at the village below, spotting Sheikah with their white hair and the crimson eyes they displayed proudly without any fear of being treated like a monster.  
His hair instantly turned from dark violet to snow white with streaks of a softer violet running through in various places. His dark clothes shifted to a purple similar to what Vio liked to wear. His eyes turned from a glowing, evil red, to a duller, yet kinder version of the color. A violet sheikha eye was painted unconsciously on his forehead. Aura noticed the change, eyes widening immediately.

“What the-”

“He does that.” Ravio waved off, “He can actually imitate any of the Heroes of Hyrule at will, and he also is able to alter his features, so long as he doesn’t use magic any further or touch the light… though… I’m a little surprised. This is the first time he’s made his hair white instead of black.” 

“He’s imitating a Sheikah.” Linkle said in understanding, “The shadow tribe.” 

“I guess it’d make sense you’d want to look more like a Sheikah than a Hylian.” Marin pointed out, “Seeing as the Shiekah are shadows, like you.” Link just winked at them.

“Not too witty, my default will usually be Hylian, but no promises… I think I like this look on me! I absolutely love violet! It’s my favorite color!” Link bragged. Ravio seemed to perk up, almost as if he was pleased with himself.

“Why, how flattering, Mr. Link, is it your favorite because of me?” Ravio purred. Link rolled his eyes.

“Don’t flatter yourself, rabbit.” He warned, “It was the color my best friend wore before I died… now, enough about that. Aura, the leaders of this tribe?” Aura stopped walking, stopping right in front of the steps leading into the central house. 

“Wait here. They don’t like strangers.” She ordered, before going up and leading them behind. The moment she was gone, Marin spoke up.

“Why did they tell her that her brother was dead?” She asked softly, “I mean, you tell me he lost his memory, but that does not mean they should keep her from him.” Link paused, weighing that question in his mind. From what he could tell, it was to keep Aura from looking. To keep her from getting into something she didn’t understand. To keep her from hoping that he was still alive, when in reality he would sleep for a hundred years, and she would die long before he’d get to see her face again. But they hadn’t told Marin about that. Ravio had described the Heroes to him whenever they first met and Linkle just knew about them already from her own adventures. Marin was the only one, other than Aura, who didn’t know all the details.

“Marin.” Ravio’s voice was soft, which was unusual compared to his usual charisma, “Her brother, in this part of the timeline, is asleep. He really did die in that battle. The Shiekah used their technology to revive him.”

“So, why does that keep him from being with her?” Marin asked. 

“Because…” Linkle whispered, “To heal correctly using this technology, Link had to sleep for 100 years.” Marin’s voice went quiet, as a certain understanding flashed across her features. Around this time, arguing could be heard from the house the stood before. Aura’s demands and angry shouts seemed to try and wake the whole village. 

After listening to the girl yell and demand for what seemed like forever, the doors to the house flew open, and Aura stormed out. Trailing behind her, trying to stop her were two beautiful Sheikah women who looked way too alike not to be sisters. One was dressed in a warrior’s uniform. The other in a cute, button up dress, with a bow in her hair and glasses perched on her nose, making her easier to distinguish from her obviously younger, but more battle hardened sister.

“Aura, wait! Try to understand-” The younger sister in armor began, but Aura would not let the woman continue, instead matching to their waiting group. One flash of her eyes told him all he needed to know.

Now she knew the truth. 

Now there was nothing she would not do to find the Hero of the Wild.

“I’m in.” She snarled.


	13. Link is Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While building a town that would grow into the future kingdom of Hyrule, Link goes missing.

Link was missing. 

He’d seen him only the day before. He’d waved goodbye as he went to investigate some weird monsters in the woods, and he hadn’t returned since. He was supposed to be back last night. He wasn’t back. He was flat-out gone. He’d been searching the entire forest for the Chosen Hero, but it was like he had disappeared completely. There was no body left behind from the battle Link had very clearly had with the monsters that had been roaming there. He wasn’t sure if that was somehow worse. 

Had he been captured?

Had the monsters dragged Link away and taken him hostage?

He really hoped that wasn’t it. 

He’d be sad if the little guy had gotten himself kidnapped… and also more than ready to tease the Hero endlessly about it whenever he found Link. So much for being the unbeatable, unstoppable Hero. 

Of course, if Link wasn’t kidnapped, then he had no clue what to expect.

Did Link randomly decide to go exploring? That made no sense. Link knew the Surface better than most Hylians. Link didn’t get lost. Was Link pursuing monsters further? Had they been more trouble than what Link had expected? Perhaps he was panicking too soon. Perhaps Link was fine, it was just taking a bit longer to kill all the other monsters than he had expected. 

Yeah, that had to be it. 

He still thought he should’ve gone with the guy.

“I need you to stay here and make sure Zelda and the others are safe.” Link had told him on the day before, “No one from Skyloft knows what the Surface can be like more than me and you. You have to protect the settlement while I handle this. Stay here. I’ll be fine.” He’d believed him. No one was tougher and better with a sword than Link, despite how tiny, scrawny, and weak he seemed to be. 

Oh, Hylia! 

Why in Din’s name had he believed him?!

The little guy was going to get himself killed! Most certainly! Good swordsman or not, he’d still run off on his own. Every Skyloft Knight knew one did not just let your teammate just wander off like that. Sure, Link was probably used to doing that a lot more by that point, but the fact still remained that he had let his fellow knight wander off to fight a herd of unfamiliar, more powerful monsters all on his own.  
He was an idiot! He should’ve gone with him.

He heard a sound and froze like a crazy remlit that had just had a lantern shoved in its face in the dead of night. The snap of a branch under one’s foot. Skittish, he drew his blade, spinning around in search for anything that might leap out at him and eat him or something equally as horrific. His eyes settled on the rustling bushes to the right of him. He gulped expecting something terrible to happen as his blade trembled in his hand and he backed up slowly.   
Then, one of the most amazing creatures he had ever seen emerged from the thick of the bushes.   
It was a tiny bird, but much bigger than normal tiny birds. It was comically round and pluck, with a head that cocked from side to side in curiosity. It made a clucking sound with his throat. It’s feathers were an odd golden color.

Groose was suddenly the happiest man alive as he forgot his blade and scooped the little guy up in his arms with a big smile.  
“I love this thing!” He declared proudly, “It is like the king of all tiny birds! Hmm… What is it? I think I shall call this bird… A Groose-Bird!” He puffed his chest out, proud of the new name for the species of bird he’d just discovered. The creature cocked it’s head to the side, not seeming to approve of the name. Groose huffed.  
“Well if you don’t want a marvellous name like that, what the heck am I supposed to call a bird like you?” He demanded of it. It made more clucking sounds in its throat and Groose tried to imitated it, but it came out more like “Cu-cco” than “Cluck! Cluck!”

Groose beamed.

“Ah! Yes! I shall call you the cucco! King of the tiny birds… though, sorry, you aren’t as awesome as a Loftwing. Oh, man! I’ve gotta show you to Zelda!” Groose declared before pausing, looking down at his sword then looking over at the wrecked clearing where Link had been fighting only the day before. He looked back to the cucco in his arms. He sighed.

“Sorry little guy, I’ve got to find my friend Link. He’s missing.” He told the bird as he set it down and tried to shoo it off. It however nudged lovingly against Groose, indicating that it wanted to follow him. Groose hesitated before nodding to it.

“Okay, you can come, but you’ve gotta be quiet and you hafta stay behind me. I’m a big brave knight from Skyloft. I’ll keep you and Link safe from any monsters in this forest!” The cucco clucked as if he agreed. Groose beamed and picked up his sword and continued his search. The cucco and Groose forged forwards, past the clearing where the fight had been and towards some of the forest that looked disrupted in search for Link. Only a moment later and Groose heard another sound in the woods and once more had his weapon out.

He yelled in alarm, stumbling back and just barely impaling the odd looking Bokoblin that jumped out at him. 

“Gah! Evil monster!” He yelled, scrambling back as it landed in front of him, seemingly dead with black seeping out of it’s wound.

“Wait… black? Wasn’t that the kind of monster Link was investigat- Ah!” The monster suddenly sprung back up, despite being impaled, and lunged for Groose. Groose grabbed his sword again, swinging quickly, and slamming the blade into the monster again. This time, the thing actually died… Well… Groose thought it died. He tapped it experimentally with his sword, completely expecting it to jump at him again.

“Wow, little cucco, that was scary? Right?” The cucco clucked in agreement. Groose poked at the monster more. It really didn’t look anything like the Bokoblins he and Link had fought while the whole Demise fiasco was still a thing. This one was somehow uglier, which said a lot considering that bokoblins tended to be straight up ugly. 

“I wonder if it was alon-” Groose stopped, freezing as his eyes went very wide and he noted the monsters that were now completely surrounding him and the cucco. The cucco ducked between Groose’s legs. Groose gulped, raising his sword.

“Back! I’m warning you! I’m a trained knight! I will not hesitate to kill you!” A dark chuckle erupted from the woods, making Groose’s ears drop the way they did when a Hylian was frightened, or sad. Honestly, he hated how Hylian ears were so annoyingly telling when it was obvious that some Hylians didn’t want their emotions put on display. 

“Who's there?! Garahim? If that’s you, I swear I’ll win in a fight. Where’s Link, what did you do to him?!”

“You wouldn’t win.” A voice that was most certainly not Garahim’s laughed, “And I’m not that foolish Demon. That fool of a sword was nothing more than a tool for Demise that was easily tossed to the side. He was taken from Hylian ranks and turned into a weapon for the soul purpose of besting Hylia’s goddess blade. He failed in that mission, and therefore will suffer for it.” Groose trembled, really freaked out now. If this dude thought he was better than Garahim, then how strong was he?

“Where’s Link?” He called, fighting past the panic and trying to muster up as much courage as he could.

“Oh… He’s around. Don’t worry, he’s in good hands and still lives… for now. I have plans for the Hero. Plans… plans that you, of all people apparently have been foretold to put to a halt. I’m not sure how. Look at you! A coward parading around like he’s a knight. Honestly, I’m beginning to think the seers are lying about this. No matter, I’ll still kill you all the same and make sure their words don’t come true!” Groose squawked in alarm as the monsters surged forwards, attacking all at once. Groose almost forgot his knight’s training as he started out swinging blindly and praying to Nayru that he’d hit something. Then, as he realized he wasn’t dead yet after a few seconds, he forced his eyes open, remembered his training, and set to work. The little cucco helped a lot, dive bombing any monster Groose missed. Groose laughed and whooped like a mad-man, showing off his flashy swordplay for the monsters. 

“Oh, yeah! Who’s awesome! Groose! You monsters scram or the Groose will tear you to pieces! Woo-whoo!” Groose cheered, getting suddenly excited as he attacked the monsters. Adrenaline seemed to fuel him. He was on fire!  
Only… the monsters didn’t seem to want to die. No matter how much he stabbed, jabbed, and slashed, they kept advancing. As the adrenaline began to wear off, cold, nagging fear began to buzz in his chest.

Crap! He wasn’t winning. 

Oh, Hylia! They were going to kill him!

Groose’s sudden panic was his undoing as he was knocked upside the head with a club from behind while he wasn’t paying attention. He gasped, his form going limp as spots danced across his vision. He blinked, releasing much too late that the monsters were now clawing at his arms, trying to keep him down for some reason.   
Groose then looked up and his heart hammered with fear as a dark creature that looked a little like a giant lizard. A dark lizalfos. One that had an intelligent glint in its crimson eyes that no monster he’d met before held. It pointed it’s dark blade at Groose, flashing pearly white teeth down at the boy.

“You always wanted to be the chosen one, boy. Now you are. How does it feel?” The lizard snarled. Groose gulped, his eyes squeezing shut as the monster drew his sword back for the kill. 

“Rapheo!” A female voice called, breaking the tension and cutting through the air, “Rahpeo, where are you?!” Groose dared to open his eyes, seeing that the monster had halted his weapon just above Groose’s neck. It’s head was swerved in the direction of the girl’s voice. It snarled.

“The Shadow draws near. No matter. Another time then, boy. Next time, I will not falter in killing you.” The lizard concluded, before simply vanishing, along with all of the monsters. Groose kinda just laid there, heart racing a thousand mile per hour. He would’ve stayed that way for hours too, thinking about the words the monster had said.

‘You always wanted to be the chosen one, boy. Now you are. How does it feel?’

“Rapheo!” Groose snapped out his stupor and sat up, giving a confused look towards the cucco, who suddenly seemed very happy. Out of the forest, the girl of Groose’s dreams appeared. She had hair as blonde as Zelda’s, though cut very short. She had eyes just as blue too. 

And then it occurred to him that she looked like she could’ve been Link’s sister, and he had to gag at the very idea of thinking that anyone related to Link was pretty. Not that the girl was Link’s sister, because he was an only child. So, Groose supposed it was okay. Wait… Groose didn’t know this girl. Groose knew all of the Hylians. 

How the heck did he not know this girl?

“Rapheo!” She cheered upon seeing the cucco, “There you are!” She scooped it up in her arms, cuddling it close for a second before holding it in front of her and wagging a finger at it.

“What have I told you about wandering off, mister? You always get lost!” She scolded.

“...Uh, hi?” Groose asked. The girl spun around, as if just now noticing him. She frowned at him for a moment, looking down at a compass she had, which she tilted from side to side experimentally. 

“Yep! You’re the one!” She declared, “Aura! Mr. Link! Ravio! Marin! I found the Son of Sky!” 

“Ugh, we’re coming! Jeesh, Linkle, what the heck? Do you always dart off like that?!” A new voice said as a black haired boy stumbled into the clearing followed by a pretty redhead, a guy in a weird rabbit costume, another tiny bird, and a scowling little girl with scars all over her.

“I swear, woman, you are worse than the chicken!” The black haired boy declared loudly and in an irritated voice. Linkle looked embarrassed for a second.

“Sorry.” She said before perking up and pointing at Groose, “But look I found him!” Groose locked eyes with the black haired kid. The black haired kid offered him a weird look.

“...This guy? Are you sure?” He asked. 

“Be nice!” The red head scolded.

“But look at his hair!”

“Um, Ravio runs around in a rabbit suit. I think the new guy’s hair is barely the most noticeable thing we’ll have in this group.” The scarred girl noted. The balck haired kid huffed, before offering Groose a hand to help the man to his feet. Reluctantly, Groose took it. 

“Who the heck are you people?” Groose asked, “I didn’t know that Hylians lived on the Surface. I thought only the ones that came down with us from Skyloft lived here.”

“Bam! Skyloft. Son of Sky. Am I good or what?” The Link-look alike girl declared. 

“We must be in the era of the Chosen Hero. The first true incarnation of the Hero affected by Demise’s curse. They call the Link from this era… um, Sky. Linkle’s right, this guy’s the one.” 

Groose perked up.

“Do you know where Link is? I heard you mention him! He’s missing and there was this whole weird thing with a creepy lizard just a second ago that said something about knowing where he is! I think the lizard kidnapped Link and I have to save him! You do know Link, right?” Groose questioned. The black haired boy held his hands up to slow Groose down.

“Hold up, a creepy lizard kidnapped your Link?” The kid asked, tilting his head to the side. Groose nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, and he was just here! He tried to kill me… oh… oh my gosh he tried to kill me!” Groose resisted the urge to to pull his hair out. Once more, the black haired boy looked at the Link-look alike chick with a deadpanned expression.

“This guy?”

“Yep!”

“Oh, boy…” The boy took a deep breath, before regarding Groose again.

“First off, calm down.” He ordered, and Groose found himself obeying, giving him his attention and taking a steady breath.

“Second, tell me exactly what the heck happened.” He requested. Groose nodded, explaining the encounter. The boy’s eyebrows knitted and his lips turned down in a worried frowned.

“...That was the guy who tried sacrificing me. I’m sure of it.” He decided. Groose gawked at the kid, eyes wide. That lizard tried to sacrifice a kid? What the heck? What had Link stumbled into.

“Are you sure?” The rabbit man asked.

“Positive. I didn’t see the guy before, but he sounds like the same guy. He’s behind the time rift thing that the Heroes are stuck in, which is why he knew what happened to the Link here. Also, he left when he knew I was close. He wants me caught, but something tells me that capturing me here, in the world of light where I retain some of my power still, is not ideal. Trust me. From what we’ve seen so far, he’s a Vaati kinda guy. He’ll send all he has at us to try and stop us, but will stay in the background until he knows he will win. Why else would he be studying the Heroes or trap them in time?”

“Plus, the whole, you’re chosen to help kill me like the seers thing says.” The red head noted, “He knows about the prophecy.” The black haired kid swore, impressing Groose and mortifying the red head. 

“If he’s catching on, then we’ve got to figure out our next move… fast.”

“Well, if it helps, after the compass flashed for the hair guy, it started trying to point me somewhere else in this era. Maybe we should follow?” The Link-look alike suggested.

“Ugh, I hate that the plan is to follow a stupid magic compass until we figure stuff out. Mr. Link, aren’t you supposed to be our leader? Can’t you come up with a better plan?” The scarred girl asked. Mr. Link? The black haired kid was named Link too? 

“Unless you can create time rifts that take us exactly where we need to go, no.” Mr. Link huffed, “I have no clue what else we can do until we figure this stupid compass out or find a way to navigate time ourselves.” 

“Uh… what?” Groose asked. The red haired girl leaned in, whispering loudly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain. Mr. Link is just still getting used to Miss. Aura. She likes ‘questioning the plan.’” 

“...What?!” Groose asked again. 

“Ugh, just come on. If you want to find your Link, follow us. Ravio and Marin will explain, try to keep up.” Scarred girl replied before spinning around to face Link-look alike.

“March, cucco lady!” She ordered.

“Righteo, little sis!” The Link-look alike said with a salute.

“Don’t call me that!” Scarred girl huffed and the odd group began to take off after the Link-look alike. Groose watched them go before the rabbit guy paused, looking back at Groose.

“Coming?” He offered. Groose blinked.

“...Uh… Apparently…” He muttered, before trudging after them. He hoped this found Link for him, because at that moment, he was too confused to think of anything else he could do.


	14. Going on a Quest...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they follow Linkle's compass, they discover something hidden in the forest.

“Okay, so I think I’ve got it.” Groose decided, “Time travelling, because why not? That Demise jerk cursed my little buddy to keep coming back as a new person every few centuries. This kid is apparently Link’s shadow… weird, but okay, and some crazy lizard dude wants to sacrifice him, but no one knows why exactly, and I’m one of five people talked about in a prophecy that says shadow Link here will die?” 

“Well, he caught on.” Marin said, sounding impressed, “Aura took a little longer to believe us and Linkle and Ravio already kinda knew what was going on.” Groose nodded.

“And what about you, Miss. Marin?” He asked. Marin shrugged.

“Oh, um. I fell in love with my Link in a weird deity induced dream, so this isn’t the craziest thing that’s happened to me… but it’s kinda up there.” Marin chuckled. Groose frowned, suddenly going all defensive.

“Ah, so in the future, you swipe Link away from Zel, huh?” He asked. Marin flushed, looking embarrassed.

“Oh, uh… I didn’t know he was seeing someone-” She started. Mr. Link leaned back to the two red heads.

“No, her Link is Zelda’s brother.” He interrupted, “It would be weird if they dated. Don’t tell anyone that though, you could get her Link killed.”

“Brother!?” Groose squawked, “So is my Link Zelda’s brother too? Ugh! They’re engaged! That’s weird!” Mr. Link facepalmed.

“...No… Groose… they have the same spirit, but they’re not the exact same guy every time. Do you even know how reincarnation works? Ugh, why’d we have to get a guy who was born before anyone knew the cycle would be a thing? This will be annoying to explain.” 

“It’s like this.” Ravio interrupted, “See, every so often, a dark evil or something that is influenced by the hate of the demon king, or in this realm, Demise/Ganon, will terrorize the kingdom you Skyloftians will build. Now, your Link will live and die just like any normal person and likely even go to the after life, but his spirit, that part of his soul that makes him the Hero of Courage, will be passed down to a new person that lives in an era that needs Link. This new person is always named Link as well, but is their own separate individual from the Links that came before him. A Link retains no memory of their past life, and therefore, are a clean slate. They have their own families, personality traits, adventures, skill sets, and even their own physical features, the only constant I’ve seen so far is they all have blue eyes, with the exception of Mr. Link’s Link for a number of reasons, and lighter colored hair. One or two do have brown hair, but it’s still, you know, the lighter color. Also, they all look like brothers, but I can guarantee you, no one would dare mistake any one Link as the same person as the one that came before. Their only true ‘linking’ characteristics are their sword and fighting skills, though even that varies, their spirit, and their uncanny habit to cause a good amount of trouble in a tiny frame of time.” 

“...Huh?” Groose asked. Mr. Link facepalmed.

“I’ll spell it out for you.” Aura grunted, “My brother, his brother, Linkle’s brother, and Marin’s boyfriend are all four completely different people than your friend. They just have the same name for reasons beyond my understanding. My guess? The goddesses get a real kick out of watching people get confused. End of story, got it?” 

“...Oh! Why didn’t you say so?” Groose asked. Another facepalm from Mr. Link. Groose swore that tiny guy had to stop slapping himself in the face. That could not be good for him. Also, why was the supposed fifteen year old kid only, like, four foot four? The kid was shorter than the average ten year old. Who the heck was that small at that age? 

Well, anyways, they were wandering aimlessly through a forest that Groose knew only Link had managed to actually explore and Groose knew was off limits to Skyloftians until Link could ensure the area was safe. It made him a little nervous, considering only an hour ago, a bunch of hard to kill monsters and a creepy lizard that apparently got his Link lost in time had just ambushed and tried to kill him. None of the others didn’t seem to worry too much, though, so Groose just pretended this was all totally normal.

Linkle led the group, moving very quickly and rambling on to her cucco, Rapheo, in excitement about a dozen different things that Groose didn’t catch. Marin kept humming to herself… which was actually really distracting and weird only for the fact that everytime she hummed something, the sounds of the animals in the forest would go completely silent, as if they were all enchanted by her song and listening intently. Ravio kept listing off random facts about stuff they passed. Apparently he was a history nut or an expert in magical artifacts, or something. All Groose knew was that Ravio was totally the kind of person Groose would’ve beaten up only a few years prior solely because he was a complete nerd and drama queen. Aura… Aura honestly scared him a little, swinging her sword around as they walked with a skill level that not even Groose, a man who’d literally grown up in a school for knights, possessed. 

And then there was Mr. Link.

The guy insulted everyone and kinda reminded Groose of that one kid at the academy that would always pull pranks, insult the teachers, and act like he was the most intelligent person ever, all because he liked to watch things burn, and annoying the crap out of people accomplished this goal. It wasn’t that Mr. Link was some crazy evil gremlin… no, he was certainly a gremlin, but he was not really that evil. Just a lot more on point with his insults than Groose used to be and very easily annoyed with everything at the moment. For such a tiny guy, Mr. Link sure did know how to get people to fear him.

Though Groose realized that was probably true of all the members of this group he’d found himself in. Linkle had such a bubbly personality, but those crossbows and her passive-aggressive comments to anyone who questioned where the heck she was taking him kinda freaked Groose out. Marin, was more quiet and reserved. She seemed normal enough. She got flustered easy and spoke softly and was more understanding than the rest… but there was something almost off about the way she carried herself. Or the way her singing or sweet voice seemed to end every argument and silence anyone or anything that heard it. It was very, very unnerving. Aura was the most blatantly obvious about how scary she was, with her many scars, permanent scowl, and her tendency to stab stuff as they walked by it. Groose was just gonna… stay clear of that one. 

Ravio was actually the hardest to fear in the group. Which was weird, because he would’ve guessed Marin would be the least scary one based on the first impression he received from them. He still kinda was wary of the guy, especially since every so often, when they’d pause, thinking they heard something weird, Ravio’s hands would unconsciously fly to the massive hammer he had strapped to his back. Groose wondered if it was because the guy nerded out about everything, or if it was the dramatic way he walked and talked, or if it was because he was a merchant, or even because of that crazy costume. All he knew was that Ravio didn’t let off quite as threatening of an air as the others. 

As they kept walking, Groose kept wondering more and more about the crazy situation he’d just landed himself in. Sure, they explained it and it all made complete and total sense to him, but it was still kinda bizarre. Not exactly, ‘shove an ancient evil with a weird toe weakness down a winding path into a sacred seal with a Groosenator.’ kind of bizarre, but, well. It was still bizarre. 

“So, Groose, what do you do?” Marin asked curiously, pulling Groose out of his thoughts.

“Er, what?”

“Well, we all kinda have a thing, you know. Something we bring to the table. I used musical magic-” Oh, that explained the voice, “Mr. Link is a shadow and uses shadow magic. Linkle’s an archer and navigator. Aura’s a super awesome swords women. Ravio just… he knows everything about everything. I have no clue how. So, what do you do?”

“Oh, I’m a knight.” Groose explained, motioning to his sword, “I graduated from a knights academy and all that… with my side studies being in engineering.”

“Side study?” Marin asked.

“Yeah, well, the academy wants to make sure you get a good education along with training, but they also want you to have your own skill set. I’m in engineering. Zelda’s in music. Link is in woodwork and carpentry. So on... So, I’m an engineer.” Groose explained. 

“Pfft. The first hero was a guy who liked to sit around and whittle statues and make tables? Not what I expected. Smithing is a way cooler profession.” 

“You’re a smithy?” Aura scoffed, “I thought you were a servant of Ganon.”

“Ahem, former servant of Ganon.” Mr. Link corrected, “And no. But my Link is. I know how to smith though, considering Vaati wanted me to best my Link at everything… but I’ve, heh, I’ve never tried it in practice.” Aura rolled her eyes at Mr. Link’s sheepish confession. After that, everything settled into a blissful silence as they marched onwards.

“Ah-ha! This is it!” Linkle suddenly announced, pausing in front of the mouth of a cavern that they’d nearly walked right past. She turned her compass experimentally, double checking that they’d come to the right place.

“This is where it took us!?” Aura scoffed, “This is a dingy old cave! There’s nothing here! Heck you can even see the back of it from right here!” Mr. Link shoved in front of Linkle, his eyes flickering over the cavern with distress. Something had him completely frightened. 

“...No… it’s not. You can’t see the temple?” He asked.

“Temple?” Ravio squeaked, “This is a temple?”

“Link never said anything about no secret temples here!” Groose agreed. Link shook his head, brushing off some dust on a few rocks on its entrance, revealing a very, very familiar marking.

A Sheikah eye, faded, and painted with a darker grey in order to disguise it better. 

“A Sheikah temple. They use shadow magic. It’s buzzing in that place like nothing I’ve felt before. So many spells and runes are at work in that cave… but… there’s something else… at the heart of it… I can sense a massive amount of dark magic, almost equal to our time traveling friend… guys… this is where we have to start our quest.” He announced. They all exchanged worried looks, not too sure how entering the place would help any of them. But one look from the group, and Groose nodded in agreement. They were all determined. If this helped Link, they would go in and face whatever the heck waited for them.


	15. The Fallen Sword.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entering the Sheikah Temple, the group discovers something that just may give them an edge against their enemy.

“This place is kinda freaky.” Linkle noted as they walked down the darkened halls with nothing but the soft violet flames flickering in Link’s hands and the urging golden flashes of Linkle’s compass as the two lead the group through the halls, which were painted with the bloody history of the war between Demise and Hylia. Groose was the only one who seemed to recognize some of the images they passed, seeing as the man grew up with the stories of the mythical ‘Surface’ and the war that Hylia won for them. Not even Ravio could point out everything depicted in the pictures, and he knew a lot of random facts about Hyrule’s history. The only thing Groose, Ravio, and weirdly enough, Linkle, could agree upon was that one man remained constant in the depictions of the war.

It was weird, as if the war had not been told from the eyes of Hylia, Demise, or even the Hero. No, from the images painted on the walls, the story was being told from the perspective of one of Demise’s servants. But not in the way one would think. The pictures made the main character, the servant, seem like some glorious warrior, before in the very next image, repainting the same scene but as if he were a savage monster in the battle. It was like the artist couldn’t decide what kind of person the servant was… or as if the artist was painting a fantasy and showing the stark, gruesome contrast of reality. 

But if this was really a Sheikah created temple, Ravio guessed the way the pictures were depicted made sense. The Shiekah were obsessed with the truth versus what is false. The apparent illusions that Link saw completely through while the others did not, were just a testament to the reason they had painted the walls the way they had. 

The temple wasn’t as large as a sage temple, but a modest size. After they reached the end of the art gallery that was the painted walls and walked through many illusions, they came into a grand central room that was the source of the majority of the runes, spells, and dark and shadow magic he had sensed.   
The room was circular, with torches mounted on pillars around the room. Link promptly lit them for the others, knowing they could not see with the clarity Link did in the dark room. 

“Woah…” Linkle breathed next to him as she saw the mural that was painted across the back of the room, “Is that him?” She pointed towards the boy depicted in the picture. A young Hylian youth that could only be sixteen. Unlike in the other paintings, his skin was not snow white, nor his eyes a cruel black. 

“Must be.” Link muttered, before his eyes settled on the object in the middle of the room: a black sword.

“It looks like the Master Sword.” Aura remarked, following Link’s gaze, “But different.”

“...What’s that?” Link asked, and in that moment, everyone in the creepy room was gawking at him like he was crazy.

“Um, you know? The tempered blade of the goddess?” Groose clamored.

“Blade of evil’s bane?” Linkle added.

“The sword of the Hero?” Aura pressed.

“The ultimate weapon against evil?” Ravio added. Link just blinked at the four.

“...I don’t know about this sword either…” Marin said sheepishly.

“You aren’t from Hyrule and you’ve never met your Link in the real world, you get a pass.” Ravio waved off, “But you!” Ravio stuck his finger at Link, “You’re the Hero’s Shadow! You should know about the Master Sword! Did Ganon or Vaati not warn you of it? A blade such as that could vaporize a creature formed from shadows such as yourself like that!” Ravio snapped to make his point. Link flinched back, eyes wide.

“...Something like that actually exists?!” He said in alarm. 

“Yes, and it can be only wielded by the Hero.” Ravio pressed, “Did yours not wield it at all? Surely he used more than just the ever illusive and obscured Four Sword.” 

“No!” Link cried, “He only ever wielded a normal blade and the Picori Blade, which he later reforged into the Four Sword and used. I’ve never even heard of such a thing until now!” 

“Pfft. I believe him. If he’s the exact same size as the actual Hero of Men-” Aura scoffed, motioning to Link’s height, “There is no way the Hero of Men could’ve used that sword.”

“It adjusts for its most current wielder.” Ravio countered, “His height does not matter.”

“...What’s wrong with my height!?” Link sputtered. 

“Um, you do realize you're a shrimp for a fifteen year old, right?” Aura asked. Link seethed, letting his irritation boil into his expression as he resisted the urge to tackle her for such a bold claim. He didn’t get the chance, because Ravio stepped in to calm him. 

“Regardless of if we know what the Master Sword is!” Ravio said, “This blade is not it. It just looks like it. However, the compass led us to it, so it must be important.” They all turned to look at it again. Groose wandered over to it, frowning deeply at the weapon as if it gave him bad memories.

“This looks like Demise’s sword.” He decided, “But the blade is smaller and it’s metal doesn’t have a jagged design like Demise’s. The gemstone and the wing on the guard matches though. Trust me. I did not forget what that thing looked like.” 

“Don’t touch it.” Link warned, “In fact, I would step away from it. Do you even want to know what random magic swords in sealed up temples would do to you? Just ask my Link! I tricked him into pulling the Four Sword again from where he’d placed it so I could break a seal on master Vaati. With the amount of magic in this place… I do not want to know what’s being sealed here.” Groose gulped, eyes flashing with fear as he took a large step back. Link knelt down, examining the runes on the ground.

“Ravio, you’re good with artifacts and such. In your work, have you ever come across this language?” Link questioned. Ravio scrambled to join him, looking down at the runes. He hummed thoughtfully, pulling out a leather bound notebook from seemingly nowhere.

“Ah, the lost language of the Era of Hylia. Originating from before the cycle itself was formed.”

“Where the crap does he learn all this stuff?” Aura grumbled, “He isn’t even from Hyrule!” Ravio chose to ignore her, instead muttering to himself under his breath as he penciled in more notes into his notebook and began working on deciphering what he could. 

“Hmm… your assumption is correct. This is indeed a seal.” Ravio decided. He then traced some runes off the side.

“And these runes? The source of the paintings. I know that sort of magic anywhere. The paintings were not made by whoever placed the seal. They are the memories of the one who was sealed. This rune took his memories and displayed them on these cavern walls for any who stumbled in here to see. Likely as a warning. This rune… if my notes are correct, is his name, but I don’t know how to read the full thing. And this? A binding spell.”

“Which one holds the actual seal?” Link asked. Ravio hummed, looking back and forth between his notes and the runes. Finally, he pointed to the oldest, most faded rune of all of them.

“That one.” He said firmly. Link traced his fingers carefully over it, closing his eyes and letting his magic carefully prod it for anything hostile. He inhaled sharply, as a shock was sent through his body and suddenly, Link wasn’t in the temple anymore, but in the memory of the one who’d been sealed there.

The sixteen year old Hylian boy from the picture on the main wall was in chains, being presented before Demise himself. There was a glare of absolute hate in the boy’s eyes as he regarded the Demon King. His hair was silver blonde. His eyes warm brown. His face narrow and lean. 

“Truly? This boy is the one who dared infiltrate our domain? He’s barely old enough to join Hylia’s ranks, much less try and kill a being such as myself.” Demise roared, 

“Still, it’s admirable to see a Hylian with such courage. One or two Hylians like you cross my path every so often, but all of them soon learned the meaning of fear and were executed for their crimes against me. Why! Even now, one such Hylian is raising Hylia's army and helping her forge a blade. A weapon they hope to use against me! Well… two can play at that game.” The boy arched back and let out a cry of pain.

“You will become my subject.” Demise decided, “A monster, like those you once fought. In my name you will kill thousands. Tear down cities! Destroy! And when Hylia comes, you will be my sword.” 

Link gasped, scrambling back from the rune and looking up at the dark weapon with horror in his eyes as the memory faded from his mind. 

“Mr. Link!” Marin cried, racing to check on him as his heart hammered with panic. He knew exactly what this blade was sealing now. But the one who was sealed by it was very, very fast asleep, only able to say anything through flashes of memories and his dreams. Link doubted even drawing the blade would be enough to wake the sealed demon. For Demise was dead. Only his incarnations of hate remained. And a sword with no purpose? Well, it was laid to rest. 

“I’m drawing it.” He declared.

“What!? But you just said-” Linkle objected. She was ignored as he scrambled to his feet, and regardless of the weapon’s size, wrapped his fingers around the hilt and pulled up. The weapon came free with no trouble at all, shrinking and adjusting itself for Link’s height, before shimmering and morphing from a dark version of the Master Sword to a dark version of the Four Sword. Link felt a sleepy voice inside the weapon, but the soul of the blade did not wake up. Instead, it latched itself to Link’s spirit, and chimed, as if declaring him it’s new master. Instantly, he felt his shadow magic replenish and a surge of strength.

“...I’m betting this thing is at full power when used in the Dark World.” Link muttered, turning it in his hands, “Right now, our enemy is strongest there… but with this, I might be able to control my magic there again without him stopping me. It can give us an edge we did not have before.” 

“That’s why the compass brought us here.” Linkle noted, “So you can get control of your powers in the Dark World again.” Link nodded in agreement, before sheathing the weapon.

“Now? Where to next?” He questioned her.

“It’s flashing like it wants us to leave this era.” She told him. Link looked to Marin, and Marin came to his side. Together, they opened a new portal and continued on wards.


	16. Telma's Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They stumble into a Hyrule that they don’t recognize and learn some troubling news.

"A city!” Ravio cheered, “Excellent! Now I can finally try selling some of my merchandise!” Indeed, they had appeared in the alley of a city, obscured from the view of people. It was day, so Link had to keep to the shadows, but he did not melt into Ravio’s shadow just yet, knowing that very soon, the others would need to sleep regardless of what time of day it was in that era. 

Sleeping schedules were just terrible to keep track of whenever you switch between night and day so fluidly and the leader of the group just so happened to be nocturnal and not in need of as much sleep as the rest. Aura swore Link was a cat based on how little he actually slept. 

“No.” Link grunted, “You can scam and swindle later. Right now we need to find an inn or something. You guys look like a bunch of deadbeats, and I’m being polite when I say that... Do they have inns that would let us keep two birds that I’m beginning to believe are feral in the rooms?” Linkle seemed very offended that he’d called Rapheo and Sheerow feral, but she was ignored.

“You know, I actually didn’t think about the animals.” Marin admitted with a worried voice, “In a city like this, they may make us cage them.” 

“Excuse me!?” Ravio screeched, “Sheerow is a free roaming bird!”

“I didn’t say I was going to make you cage him! I said they would! I don’t really care, but they’ll get lost or stolen if we aren’t careful.” Marin scrambled to explain. That didn’t seem to alter Ravio’s opinion on Marin’s concerns as he stifled and dramatically turned away from the girl with a huff.

“Look, we’ll worry about that when we come to it. Right now, I want food and a bed, is that too much to ask? It’s been months since I’ve slept in an actual bed, you know. Don’t ruin this for me over a stupid bird.” Aura scolded Ravio. Ravio seemed even more offended on Sheerow’s behalf as he plucked the bird down into his arms and began muttering to him that he didn’t need to worry about the mean Hylians and that he was a very lovely bird.

“Hey, there’s a place down here with food!” Link looked over and saw Groose had wandered off with Linkle and Rapheo down the alley a little ways and were pointing at a very sketchy looking building with a sign that none of them could even read and the smell of food coming out of it. 

“But is it an inn too, or just a restaurant?” Linkle said as she tapped her finger on her chin. Before Link could stop the curious Hylians, they were already going in. He rolled his eyes and followed, realizing instantly that Groose had just brought them into a bar. For the place it was located, it didn’t seem to be that bad of an establishment. It’s customers were hardly the shadiest, though there were a few worrisome men lounging about. A couple of knights were playing cards at a table, laughing and talking. At the bar itself, a robust woman with dark skin, fierce yet gentle eyes, and hair that was almost red, intricately woven and tied back out of her face. A few men seemed not the most sober, despite it being in the middle of the day, but they mostly chattered like idiots and left the group that was now looking for a place to sit down. Link found himself pulling his hood over his hair, painfully aware of the fact that he was a guy who looked like a fifteen year old that had just walked into some random bar. 

They settled down at the farthest table and Groose went to go ask the lady about what they had while Ravio decided to do a mental inventory check of what merchandise he had to sell. Marin and Linkle started making small talk. Meanwhile, Link was left to sit in awkward silence next to Aura.

“So…” Link said, looking over at her, “...What the heck is wrong with my hieght again?” 

“For Hylia’s sake, Mr. Link, you’re still hung up on that?” Aura asked, “You’re short. Deal with it!”

“I’m not short!” Link objected, “I’m normal sized, I’m in the body of a kid, remember!? Being smaller is normal!”

“...Mr. Link, you’re pyshically fifteen.” Aura deadpanned.

“Yeah, so?” Link asked.

“I’m actually fifteen and I’m five foot four. You are four foot four, a litteral entire foot shorter than I am!”

“So the Hero of Men is hitting his growth spurt late. Is that my fault?”

“You’re just in denial, shrimp.” Aura scoffed before actually cracking a small smirk in his direction. Link blinked. She had a good smile. Of course, he couldn’t let her get away with insulting him like that.

“Whatever, scary lady.” He huffed, “Just know if you wake up tomorrow and accidently trip down the stairs, I had nothing to do with it.” He crossed his arms and gave her a smug look. She just rolled her eyes. Groose returned not too long later with food. They began to eat, and the topic of skills came up once more. Once Groose discovered that two of their companions didn’t know how to fight, and demanded of Link why something hadn’t been done to fix that little issue.  
Link objected that he had tried, before Ravio stated plainly that Link just didn’t have the patience to teach swordplay, despite being on par with the Hero of Men. Aura was likely in the same boat, since she was self taught and got annoyed easy. Groose decided this would not stand. Every Knight on Skyloft was require to at least have some training with a sword. He then declared loud enough for the whole bar to hear that he was going to teach Marin and Ravio to fight.

“Well, if we’re going to do that, Ravs, you need to get a different tunic… no offense.” Link stated plainly, causing Ravio to gasp in offense.

“This was a gift from Princess Hilda of Lorule herself!”

“I’m surprised you think you can fight in that thing.” Aura scoffed, “Mr. Link is right, you’ll trip and fall on your own sword in that tunic not to mention that hood really inhibits your visibility.”

“Well, if I stick to my hammer and magic rods, that isn’t much of a concern, is it?” Ravio snapped, suddenly becoming more hostile than Link had expected. Ravio hadn’t snapped at any of them once like that since they started. He was too buzy being dramatic and ridiculous or a know it all history nerd. It seemed that Ravio was legitimately angered by the idea of wearing something more practical for whatever bizzare reason.

“Um, Ravio, it’s still a concern.” Linkle said gently, “My Link was hesitant to even let you fight that way, but you seriously seemed to want to help. Ravs, your tunic could catch fire on one of your rods, or a monster you missed could come from behind or-”

“I don’t care.” Ravio huffed like a stubborn child. The table went silent. They all had guessed Ravio loved his tunic, but none of them really expected the tunic itself to be such a sensitive topic. Link had to be honest, Link knew nothing about Ravio other than hat the guy was from some kingdom called Lorule, he’d served in a Princess’s court as an advisor before humbling himself to a merchant for some strange reason, he was renting his Hero’s house, he liked dramatics, and he was easily frightened by the most random things. Heck, Link and the others still had not seen the guy’s face.

“I could make you something.” Linkle suggested, “I know your fond of the tunic you have, and we aren’t asking you to toss it, but I don’t think the Hero of Legend would be very pleased with you if you got yourself killed over your clothes.”

“You would be surprised.” Ravio said, chuckling a little, “He’s gone into battle dressed in worse.”

“But he’s an experienced fighter.” Linkle stressed, “You’re not. Not really. Even if he does that sometimes, it’s still a bad idea. He probably shouldn’t. Look, I made my hood and clothes myself. Heck, I made and embroidered my brother’s famous scarf myself! I know how to do stuff like that. Tomorrow, after you do your merchant and bartering stuff, we’ll go look for fabric. I promise, I’ll make one just as nice.

“...Do I have to give up the hood. If have to give up the hood, I’m not doing it.” Ravio said stubbornly.

“You’ll blind yourself in a fight!” Aura objected.

“No.” Marin said, speaking up, “We’ll make you another hood just like that one that you can wear. Won’t even tell the difference.”

“Promise.” Linkle agreed. Ravio huffed, head tilting down towards his food.

“Fine.” He grumbled, “So long as the hood stays.” 

“While we’re on the topic of new clothes and supplies-” Link said, but Marin cut him off.

“I’ll get something better than this dress for fighting and traveling.” She promised. Link hiestated, because, yes, she too probably needed to invest in better attire for this adventure. That, however, was not what he was going to say.

“Well, yes, but um. Aura, tomorrow, I’m taking you to a smithy.” Link announced, “Ravio and Marin need better weapons… and frankly you do too. Yours looks like you found it in a ditch, no offense. I’m replacing it, even if I have to make one myself.”

“But you’ve never actually smithed.” Groose pointed out. Link shrugged.

“What better time to test out my knowledge on the topic than now, while were still safe in a city and not in a battle yet?” He asked. They all nodded in agreement. So, with meals finished and a plan for the next day, the group gathered their things to go and find an inn that would let them keep their birds in the rooms.  
They were passing by a group that the barkeeper lady was now tending to that was at the very back of the bar where a smart looking guy with lots of books, a lady dressed in Eskimo clothes, and two very warrior looking men were talking among themselves. Link froze, his ears twitching as he heard his name mentioned.  
Subtly he tugged on Ravio’s scarf and made the motion that he needed to do something.

“I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit.” He promised. Ravio seemed puzzled, but waved him off, continuing on with the group as Link slunk back into a corner of the bar near where the people talked. He was almost invisible in the shadows that area cast, but didn’t dare use his magic to make sure they couldn’t seen him, since it was still day wasn’t ideal in the daytime... even with the new sword.

“He’s been missing for months.” He overheard one of the warriors, the one with blonde hair, tell the barkeeper, “And the monster attacks are getting worse. They’ve started bleeding black, and those that do are impossible to kill. They are getting closer to Ordon, but even Zelda’s soldiers aren’t effective against them. She says this is the task of the Hero, but ever since he went investigating that incident in the woods three months ago…” 

“They’ll have to evacuate the town.” The other warrior concluded, “Or risk a massacre. We need resources, but with the failed assaults against the monsters and the lack of soldiers volunteering for the task-”

“We can’t.” The blonde warrior concluded. Link had heard enough.

“Excuse me.” He said, stepping up to the group, “I couldn’t help but hearing. There are monsters advancing towards a village?”

“Who the heck are you?” The girl demanded. Link just flashed her a wild smirk.

“A friend of Link’s.” He promised, “And my group has been tracking these monsters. You need to prevent an attack?” The group muttered in agreement.

“Excellent, then allow me and my friends to handle it for you.” Link said with a smirk.


	17. Preparations.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get ready to go to Ordon and fight.

Telma, the barkeeper, let them stay in her back rooms for the night. While they slept, Link set himself hard at work, looking over the maps of the area and at the reports that littered the table where the resistance members had been gathered. He marked and tapered off every monster spotted, accounting for as many as he could.

The most worrying reports being ones that described the King of the Bulbins, who had since the war of Twilight, been a lot less hostile towards Hylians. The King of Bulbins had apparently recently breached his deal with the Hylians in trade to serve someone he declared ‘More powerful’ and was back to his old ways, kidnapping travelers, men, woman, and children who were taken, but never seen alive and outside the stomach of some savage monster, again. Even more worrisome than that were the reports on the black lizalfos that was leading the charge, according to Rusl, and was likely the one King Bulbin now served.  
It was his new arch foe, the creepy ‘sacrifice-the-Hero’s-shadow’ jerk.  
Link decided to call him Lizzy, since he still didn’t know who the heck he was or what the heck he thought he was gaining from all this. Lizzy the psycho lizard dude. It was absolutely fitting. 

According to Auru, it was going to take three days for a group that large to reach Ordon, and take one for their group to get there by horse and wagon, so long as they could curve around the small battalion of foes and avoid ambush. That left them one day to get gear together in Castle Town, one day to get there, and a day to set up defenses and/or get the villagers out of the town before it was destroyed.  
With such a time table in place, Link didn’t really wait for Aura to wake up to see the smithy, instead, once he finished planning their route and coming with a few ideas on how to foil their enemy. It was late, and the local smith was a little annoyed that Link asked to borrow the forge in the middle of the night, but the place was open up to him and he was left alone to see if he was any good at the trade his brothers had excelled at. 

It took him the entire night.

He couldn’t start from scratch, since he simply didn’t have time to make a good, durable weapon in one night. A good sword took far longer than a night to forge, but the smith let him buy six of his semi-completed weapons and take his shot at finishing and perfecting them. He was glad he bought three extra, because there were so many complete and total disasters of attempts to get a handle on the practice he knew so much about, but had never really tried.

On try four, Link nearly woke the town with his cry of victory upon seeing it was perfectly done and very sturdy. He replicated this victory twice more, thanking all of the goddesses for his wonderful luck and for being born with this knowledge in the back of his mind… even if it had taken a few ruined swords to get the hang of it.  
After that he switched his tunic color to match the color Ravio liked to wear. Linkle had promised to take Ravio to the tailors, but Link didn’t want to waste time waiting for everyone to get their things when he could do it all in one run before they woke up. The tailor was awake, despite it being five in the morning, and gladly found fabric good for traveling that matched the color Ravio wore, along with the fabric Link guessed Ravio would need for anything extra on his outfit, like the decorative bunny hood. He got pattern patter, some needles, a lot of thread, scissors, and everything the tailor told Link that he needed to make a tunic completely from scratch.  
When he asked about stuff for Marin, he could swear the man’s eyes lit up as he began piling even more stuff into Link’s hands.

Soon he was hauling three swords and a bunch of fabric down the stirring streets of Castletown. On the way back, he found a place where they sold supplies for traveling and bought food for the coming week. He bought potions for the others, though he was almost positive they wouldn’t work on a magic based creature like himself. The others could need them though, considering he’d just volunteered them to fight a bunch of monsters.

Finally, he got back to the bar right as the late night drinkers were crawling out and the early morning customers wandering in. The others were wide awake, already discussing the plans with the Resistance members over breakfast and coffee. They all seemed a little alarmed when they saw him walk in with arms full.

“There you are!” Groose said, staring at the supplies Link was carrying before going over and helping him out with some of it.

“Were you awake all night?” One of the resistance members… the one called Rusl who said he was from the village Ordon that was being targeted. The same village that happened to be the Hero of Twilight's home. Link really didn’t think it was coincidence that the monsters were apparently targeting one for the Link’s homes while the man was away. The reports of the black lizalfos only seemed to solidify this suspicion. Link was afraid that the lizalfos was trying to get their attention directly and bait them, or, at the very least, trying to bait the Hero of Twilight whenever the man was dragged back with the other Links, into his own era. It was how Link would’ve done it. 

Take the Hero’s home and family. Draw him in, kill him or capture him whenever he gets too close. Do something grand and dramatic and absolutely terrible to rile the Hero up so that he’d charge in blindly, regardless of the obvious trap. He really hoped this lizard didn’t plan things out the way he used to. If so, they would have to put up quite the fight against him if they wanted to actually kill the guy as they planned. 

“Hello, Mr. Link!” Rusl called snapping him out of his thoughts, “Where you awake all night? You seem distracted, staying out so late is not a good idea.” 

“...I’m fine. Just thinking. Don’t worry about me. I used to work a night shift back in my home village and I’m still kinda adjusting from that. I’ll sleep later on the way there. I used my time awake to get some work done.” Link explained, waving Rusl’s fear off. 

“Oh, wow, you already got everything?” Linkle asked, getting up from her seat and looking at the fabric with eager eyes. 

“Well, I hope so.” Link said, “I know nothing about making clothes. I went ahead and got it so we can save time and set out for Ordon sooner. The longer we wait here, the closer they’ll get to that village. We’ve got to head out as soon as possible… So Ravio, if you're gonna go swindle people, do it before we leave and make it quick. I don’t want to be here too long.” 

“That’s fine, I suppose.” Ravio said, “Miss. Linkle, come with? It’ll be nice catching up with an old friend.”

“Of course!” Linkle said cheerfully. Link resisted the urge to drag his hand down his face.

“Well, be back in two hours after you finish eating, please. No longer than that. Lives are at risk with this whole Ordon village situation.” Linke nodded, already scarfing down her food and draining her coffee mug. Ravio wasn’t as quick, drawing out his meal and making a show of feeding Sheerow and Rapheo. Ten minutes later the two were out the door. Link sat down at the table where Ravio had been sitting to address the resistance members and his own group. 

“So, if we go around this way, we can avoid their camps all together and reach the village within a day.” Link started, “We get the women and children and anyone who doesn’t think they can fight out and escort them to Kakariko, while us and the men that know how to fight will try to hold the village. Marin and Ravio will take the refugees. Linkle, Groose, and Aura, you’ll stay with us.” 

“Shouldn’t we assign at least one trained warrior with the caravan?” Marin asked in worry.

“Are Ravio and Marin not trained?” The resistance member Auru questioned as he cocked his head to the side.

“Not in fighting.” Link admitted, “But both know and use magic items and songs. They can use that to keep the monsters at bay, should anything go wrong. Ravio also sent Sheerow to the palace last night with a letter explaining the situation. The Queen, according to what she wrote back said that-”

“She’s working on getting as many soldiers as she can to prevent the attack and send back up.” Ashei interrupted, being the one who’d translated the letter for Link once she’d learned he couldn’t read or write in their Hylian. 

“But a group of soldiers that large won’t be able to get organized and to the village until it's too late. They would’ve gotten them together sooner, but until Rusl got here with a full report about how bad it actually is, the Captain of the Guard wasn’t exactly taking the black blood monsters as seriously as he should’ve been. The Queen seemed rather furious with him in her letter back to us.” Telma huffed, crossing her arms, “Anyways, I know how to handle myself in a fight, and if we need more to guard the caravan, I’ll go with them. It’ll give me an excuse to visit Renado again, for certain. However, Mr. Link is right, until we can get more support from the guard, we’ll have to defend the village ourselves, and we can’t do that with the children there because it’s a risk and we have to also keep our best fighters on hand in the village.”

“I’ll go with them too.” Shad spoke up, “I’m not much use on the fronts, but I can help protect the children should the monsters notice our attempts to get them out of there.”

“Once we get there, Ravio will send Sheerow to let you know we arrived safely.” Marin finished. 

“Good.” Rusl finished before looking over at Link.

“There isn’t, um, any possibility that our Link would be able to help with this, is there?” He questioned. Link swallowed, taking a deep breath. He’d explained to them the night before that their group was a group that had been tracking black blooded monsters and had been looking for the source of the infection. They said that they’d been spurred into the mission on the behalf of the Hero of Twilight and then waved off the reason why Link and the Hero of Twilight had the same name as it just being a common name. They left most of the time traveling and Link being a shadow out because Link did not plan on explaining it to every person he came across nor did he feel like hauling more than the five mentioned by the seer along with him on this quest if they failed to kill the lizard in that era. 

“...This… Dark Lizard you mentioned in the reports. Rusl, we know Link was tracking him too. That’s what Ravio last saw him doing. We’re certain he’s still alive. We think the lizalfos was targeting the Hero of Twilight specifically.” Link explained. 

“He’s the reason Link disappeared.” Rusl said softly. Link nodded and the table went silent as worry and unspoken fear for their friend’s life seemed to hang in the air. 

“There’s no guarantee Link will make it to Ordon.” Aura said simply, “Of if the lizalfos hasn’t already taken him, hence his being gone. But if we can pull this off, we might get the answers we need to find him.” 

“Well then.” Telma said, “Groose, Auru, Rusl, and Mr. Link. Help me get the wagon ready and hooked up. Aura and Marin, go find Ravio and Linkle and make sure they meet us at the Elden exit when they’re done.” 

“Will do.” Aura said with a mock salute before grabbing Marin and dragging her off to go do their tasks. After Telma closed up her bar. Link went and helped get the wagon ready for escorting the kids out.


	18. Corruption.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While resting in the wagon on the way to Ordon, Link has an odd dream.

“Again.” A deep voice ordered. The scrawny Hylian boy huffed, picking up the dual sabers he’d dropped again. Pain shot through his fingers and he looked down, his skin still the color of snow. This nightmare was real. He was still there…. And he could slowly feel himself slipping away. 

“I said, again!” The deep voice boomed. The Hylian boy winced, before raising the blades and attacking. He seemed to fight an invisible force, training him harshly. The invisible force threw him into a wall at the slightest hint of weakness. He groaned, trying to struggle back to his feet.

“Up!” The voice demanded, “Said up! How will you become a weapon for Demise if you fail so easily. Demise has no need for a weak sword.” The Hylian boy grit his teeth, glaring towards where the voice was coming from.

“I hope Demise loses.” He growled. The voice did not seem very happy with that, because suddenly the Hylian boy crumbled again, crying out in pain as he hugged his chest. The snow white complexion started to ever so slowly spread across his skin.

“Fight all you wish, but soon you’ll sing his praises. Not even a child of Hylia’s tribe of light can resist an infection like this. Now, if you have any more remarks, on your feet. Fail again, and you will suffer for it.” The boy was less abrasive to the training now, getting up on command and holding the swords as he let out a terrible battle cry. 

And suddenly Link wasn’t watching the boy fight nothing anymore, but was standing in the Palace of Winds: The place of his conception. A young Vaati, not yet in his monstrous form and still a simple Picori Mage with soft violet hair and a magic purple cap, was standing before a mirror Link knew all too well.

“The Hero comes quickly.” He muttered, “I’ve taken the castle and I’m so close to discovering the secret behind the Light Force, I can almost taste it! Still… This blade he forged could prove problematic… so… Master, whatever will we do about the silly little Hero?” A pause, as if Vaati was listening to something.

“Shadow magic? Hmm… Would not Dark Magic be more fitting? Completely loyal. Completely ours. Why create yet another failure of a servant of darkness from shadows as you did with the sword? Sure the sword was loyal until his dying breath, but how can we be sure this one will be strong and loyal enough to be the weapon we need to stop the Hero? Shadow magic is finicky, after all!” Vaati frowned at the mirror. Looking a bit confused.

“...Master, I do not understand-” He paused, as if cut off.

“Ah… yes. Well, then. I accept the honor of bearing the hate of Demise until the time comes. I shall use it to take the Light Force at last and kill the Hero. As for the shadow? Keep your little experiment on a very short leash. Demise only knows how risky such magic can be.” 

Link gasped, sitting up in alarm as he was awoken by the wagon going over a particularly large rock. He realized he was clutching to his sheathed blade like his life depended on it. The red gemstone seemed to pulse frantically, as it’s spirit had experienced the odd nightmare right alongside Link. It took him several moments for him to register where he was. 

He was in the covered wagon, apparently using his sword like it was a pillow. He’d gone through painstaking lengths to avoid having to go to Kakariko outside of the safety of the covered wagon. Telma had wanted him to take a turn patrolling or driving, right out there in the sun’s harsh light, but Ravio had helpfully reminded the woman that Link was used to sleeping in the day because of his ‘old job’ and they let him ride in the wagon to get sleep. Only he didn’t tell the Resistance members that he didn’t need to sleep very much to be refreshed and ready to go. Normally, he would’ve just jumped into Ravio’s shadow and called it good. 

Now he was awake and staring up at the ceiling as he slowly settled back down into the blankets he’d been nestled in, trying to at least fake being asleep so that Telma didn’t decide it was his turn to stand outside and protect the wagon or to take the reins. He was hoping to last in this ruse until sundown. Then he promised himself he would take the reins and take watch over their little caravan that inched towards Ordon and carefully avoided where the monsters were reported to be camping.

“Pst! Mr. Link!” Link opened one eye in irritation, realizing that Groose was staring right down at him.

“I’m sleeping.” He huffed, turning over and letting his eyes close again. 

“No you’re not.” Groose said, “I won’t tell Miss. Telma you’re awake, but I need to talk to you, it’s important.” Link groaned, sitting up and offering Groose a glare.

“What?” He grunted. Groose’s eyes shifted nervously down to the dark sword.

“It’s about that… thing… It was acting really weird while you were asleep.”

“I’m aware, Groose.” Link grumbled, working to rub the sleep out of his eyes, “I had a rather odd dream about it.” Groose looked even more worried.

“Um… are we sure… are we positive that taking that sword was such a good idea?” Groose asked in worry. Link glanced down at it, sensing the slumbering spirit that had been so wildly trying to tell him something important in his dreams only moments before. He had no idea what the spirit in the sword was up to, but it didn’t seem as hostile as Groose probably imagined. 

“Groose, what do you know about the spirit that dwells within Demise’s blade?” Link asked carefully. Groose swallowed hard, slumping against the canvas cover of the wagon. 

“He was not a good person.” He said firmly, his expression dark, “I’ve met him a few times. The old lady… she told me about the things he did during the war against Demise. Those paintings of the war on that wall we found that thing in? Barely scratching the surface.” Link’s stomach churned. Some of the things that had been on those walls were a bit… morbid, if that was even the right word. Still, the way the memories in the temple had been depicted both in the eyes of someone who saw how truly terrible the spirit had been in stark contrast to the eyes of someone who thought the sword spirit some sort of hero… it was a bit off putting. 

Like two halves of a whole wrestling.

Good and evil.

Dark and light.

A force neither good nor bad.

All twisted and corrupted to make a monster of a man.

To make demon. 

Link shuttered. 

“Shadow magic.” He hissed, “My dream… I had a dream about the spirit from when he was still young. From before he was loyal to Demise.” Groose snaped his eyes away from the sword to Link’s face, expression slack with alarm.

“Before… The… The lizard-”

“Lizzy.” Link offered helpfully. Groose paused, considering the nickname that Link had just offered up before snorting and silently agreeing to how absolutely perfect it was. 

“Lizzy.” He chuckled a little before going serious again, “Lizzy mentioned something weird about him to me before the guy tried to kill me. I thought that the spirit of this sword was the one attacking until Lizzy showed himself and denied it. He corrected me. Said something about the sword being a tool and about him once being a-”

“Hylian?” Link asked, his face flashing with worry. Groose nodded, the fear apparent in his eyes.

“How the heck does someone take a loyal Hylian and turn him into a vengeful, blood thirsty, sadistic, and outright evil demon lord that worships the very ground Demise walks on?” Groose asked. Link’s expression went dark and he looked away from Groose, a terrible realization settling into his stomach.

“What do you know about magic, Groose?” Link asked carefully.

“Er, well, Link has some magic items and I know about the gates of time and-” Groose started listing off. Link raised his hand, waving Groose’s list off. 

“No! No! Not those parlor tricks or time magic. All that stuff is fine and dandy, but I’m talking about magic as a practice. As an art. Like the kind you would catch a mage or maybe even a princess of Hyrule using.” 

“Oh… Nothing, I guess.” Groose admitted, rubbing the back of his head nervously, “But I know you and Miss. Marin can use it!” Link nodded, suspecting as much. Groose came from a place were magic as a practice was likely scarce due to being seprated from the Surface for so long.

“There are three main practices. Dark, Shadow, and Light.” Link responded, “Dark… don’t use dark magic ever Groose. It’ll kill a creature of light such as yourself like that!” Link snapped his fingers, “Hylians that do manage to use it already had dark and wicked hearts to begin with. You do not. You have a good heart… strong, loyal, though a bit… prone to envy.” Groose flinched back, holding his chest in offense as if Link had somehow breached his privacy too much by simply stating the qualities he’d noticed in Groose. Link moved on.

“Dark magic is most often used by Ganon and his servants. Light is used by Hylians using conducts, or in certain cases, sacred bloodlines like the line of the goddess or the sages or in Marin’s case, the blessings of a deity.”

“Do you use dark?” Groose asked, clearly remembering that Link used to be a servant of Ganon. Link shook his head. 

“I never did.” He admitted. Groose seemed really surprised by this confession. Honestly, Link was a bit caught off guard by the answer himself. After all, he had been wondering not even days before what would’ve happened if Ganon had just made him from dark magic instead of the finicky shadows. 

“You use Shadow.” Groose noted. Link nodded.

“Just like Impa did.” Groose continued. Another nod.

“I’m literally made from that magic. Shadow magic can be ethier good or bad, depending on who wields it. I used to be bad.” Link explained, “And until recently, I never questioned why I was made from that magic. Then, when I betrayed him, I wondered why Ganon and Vaati even let me be born like that when they knew I had the ability to choose the side of light.” Link’s shoulders sank and he found himself wrapping his arms around his knees, holding them close to his chest as he tried to make himself very, very small.

“And now I think the sword just told me why.” He whispered. Groose noticed the distressed expression on Link’s face and moved in close, wrapping an arm around Link’s shoulder and pulling him closer.

“Do I need to bury the sword or something, cos’ I can totally do that!” Groose offered cheerfully, “Serves him right, after what he did to Link and Zelda.” 

“No!” Link gasped, gawking up at Groose in complete horror at the very suggestion, “We need it. Odd visions or not, it’s ability to enhance and stabilize my magic in the Dark World is important… But Groose, don’t you get it? The sword isn’t made from Dark Magic!” Groose didn’t seem to be catching onto where Link was going with this. Link didn’t expect him to. 

“It’s… shadow magic?” Groose wondered, bewildered. Link nodded.

“Shadow magic leans towards either the light or the darkness. It’s like a middle ground. It’s not really evil, but it isn’t really good. Those who tend to use light magic in practice are typically incorruptible. Those who use dark are unsavable. But those in the middle?” Link laughed, wondering why he hadn’t figured it out sooner, “They can be corrupted to the point beyond salvation or they can be saved to the point beyond corruption. And if a user light were to have shadow magic forced onto them to a point where it completely changes their soul, much like a Hylian boy being forced to withstand layers upon layers of shadow magic…”

“They can be corrupted.” Groose muttered, “And turned into someone like Ghirahim.”

Link nodded. 

And that was why he was created. That was why Lizzy even bothered to bring him back. Ganon, Vaati, and Lizzy, they didn’t care at all which side he stood on. They just cared that he was deeply connected to the Hero and created from shadow magic. 

They had created Link for the sole purpose of one day dying and being used to corrupt the seemingly uncorruptible spirit of the Hero. 

Groose reached the same idea he did.

“Crap.” Groose muttered, suddenly holding to Link tighter in a very, very protective manner, “We can not let that lizard get to you.”


	19. Ordon.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get to Ordon Village and Marin and Ravio meet with the local children.

Ordon Village was a quaint little village. A few homes seemingly built from the trees themselves while others crafted the old fashioned way. On their way into town, they passed by a seemingly abandoned home made from a mighty tree. Rusl told them it was Link, the Hero of Twilight’s house, which surprised them. It didn’t look like it had been used in years. It was late, well past midnight, but Mr. Link, being the nocturnal shadow he was, let everyone rest in the wagon for a little while he took the reins. He had stopped a few times on the way to let the horses rest, but for the most part, pushed them enough to get them to the village and onto the ranch where the horses were rewarded with hay and a nice place to sleep for the night. 

A lot of the village was still awake at that late hour, warned by a message Ravio had sent ahead on Sheerow to lightly pack for a trip to Kakarikio and prepare to leave Ordon until the cost was clear. Mothers were rushing about, double checking their children had everything they needed gathered and loading the packed belongings onto the wagon. Some of the kids were still awake, trying to help and boasting to the resistance members and to their group of would-be heroes about how they were gonna ‘punch monsters in the face if they tried to hurt their mommas or siblings. Marin thought the kids were adorable, if not recklessly brave for children their age. Apparently, this had not been the first time their village had been attacked and targeted and the kids were still not happy about what had happened the first time around. There were a lot of them, but the oldest kids of the group were four kids who’d apparently met monsters when the Twilight came to that world.  
There was Talo, a thirteen year old boy who wanted to stay behind and fight with his dad. He’d apparently been elven when the village had been attacked the first time. There was Talo’s younger, though more intimidating ten year old brother, Malo. There was Beth, Talo’s girlfriend, who was fourteen. And then there was Colin, Rusl’s son who was also thirteen. Colin apparently did actually know how to use a sword, having received lessons from their Link with Talo. Colin was better at using a sword than Talo, however, and wanted to stay behind to help fight more than even Talo did. 

But Rusl told the two boys that they had to stay with the caravan when it left in the morning. Rusl told them that the caravan needed good sword fighters to protect it. That was enough for Talo to start bragging to the world about how he was going to protect his mom and the rest. Colin just watched his friend in an amused silence that seemed to mirror how her Link used to act. Colin actually acted a lot like the quiet boy she’d met on the island. Soft spoken, and outwardly not a threat, but deadly with his weapon regardless of how quiet or seemingly weak he appeared. Colin had a little sister that Marin just adored. A two year old toddler who babbled and wandered around near her brother or mom. Her name was Onla. She was an absolute sweetheart. Finally, there was a girl that couldn’t be considered a child, but was still rather young.

A proud, strong seventeen year old teenager named Ilia who seemed to reign the more hyperactive kids in and was actively trying to get them to go back to sleep. After all, the kids had a long trip ahead of them in the morning. It did no one any good when they were tired and fussy when the sun rose and they set off. Eventually, the kids did get to sleep, and Marin couldn’t help but think about her Link. 

On the island she’d rambled off to him about the kind of life she wanted to live when they left the island. An explorer, her against the world. Then when she’d seen all she could, she’d settle down and start a family. He would always listen quietly, sharpening his blade or examining his shield with a tiny smile playing on his lips. When she finished talking about the idea, she’d blush, inching her hand close to his before pulling away and deciding against it. Never really saying out loud the unspoken spark the two felt that seemed to scream that they were meant to spend the rest of their lives together. 

A silly idea.

That’s what it seemed like after she woke up and thought him to be just a dream.

Her Hero, there to sweep her off her feet and take her around the world.

How could that be anything but a dream?

She found herself settling down near the wagon, laying her bedroll out as she got ready to sleep. She needed to get rest for the long trip to Kakariko too, not just the kids. As she was setting up, she noticed Ravio saying goodnight to Mr. Link, who had unsurprisingly volunteered to be the night look out for the town. She hesitated, waiting for him to trot over to the place he’d set up his own bedroll, before wandering over to the oddly dressed merchant and sitting down.

“Um, Mr. Ravio?” She asked carefully. The merchant looked over at her, but she couldn’t tell if he was annoyed by her keeping him from going to bed or happy to see her.

“Why, hello Miss. Marin!” He said in his usual chipper voice, “Those kids sure are fun. They seemed to really like my outfit. Though one of them found it odd that I chose to dress as a rabbit. Claimed a wolf would be far cooler.” Marin smiled, laughing at the suggestion.

“Let me guess-” She started.

“Talo.” Ravio agreed with a small nod. They both laughed on the behalf of Talo’s enthusiasm. The boy sure was an eger one, wasn’t he? Their laughter died off before Ravio leaned back, tilting his head towards the starry sky so you could just barely see under the hood enough to catch a glimpse of a satisfied smile. It was hard to see in the dark, but it was there.

“A long day tomorrow, huh, Miss. Marin?” Ravio said, his lips jerking ever so slightly in amusement.

“Yeah…” Marin said, “But Mr. Link and the rest really planned this whole route out. They know what they’re talking about, so I don’t think we should have too much trouble getting them to safety.”

“Mr. Hero says not to say things like that. Bad luck.” Ravio said, before the smile melted into a frown and he sat back up, his hood once more covering his mouth.

“Miss. Marin… I have a confession.” He said quite suddenly, “I don’t want to go.” Marin cocked her head to the side, clearly confused.

“Why? We’ll see them again, Ravs. Those four are awesome fighters. Best in the timeline other than the Hero himself. They can hold the bad guys off.” Marin insisted. Ravio seemed to curl in on himself.

“Well… I’m afraid. Something bad will happen. I know. Something always does.” Ravio admitted before laughing bitterly, “I’m a fool for thinking so, no?” Marin gasped, sitting up fully.

“Ravio, no! That’s normal. You’re worried about the others. That’s not silly! That’s just because you care.” Marin said quickly. Ravio seemed to wilt even more, which was hard to watch after spending many days getting to know his cheery personality. 

“Not like that. I know that’s normal.” Ravio said, “I worry for Mr. Hero all the time.” He paused, taking a steady breath.

“I’m afraid something bad will happen to us. To you and I. That we’ll fail to deliver the children to safety. That the monsters will get us. That we won’t survive tomorrow… and I fear going.” Ravio admitted, “I’m a coward.” 

“What?! No you’re not!” She exclaimed, “You’re one of the bravest guys I know. You choose to go on this quest with Mr. Link to help our friend and you might not be a good fighter, but you still are trying to help as much as you can, just like I am. Why in Hylia’s name would you think that?” 

“Because it’s true.” Ravio insisted, “I’m a coward. I always have been. I can never be allowed to forget it. You’ve seen me. I get scared by the silliest of things! I don’t even have the courage to go back to my home country and face the problems I left behind there and I don’t even have the courage to fight my own battles. I’m always getting everyone else to fight them for me it seems. First Mr. Hero… and now Mr. Link, Miss. Aura, Mr. Groose, and Miss. Hero. Miss. Marin, I’m not even brave enough to go alone and unprotected on a mission to help children. Children! Miss. Marin!” Marin just stared at him, trying to figure out who the heck had led Ravio to think he was a coward. He wasn’t! Sure, he was scared easily, but in the past few days, he didn’t let his timid approach to scary situations keep him from helping them decipher things and fight off monsters. Being scared didn’t make him a coward at all. It just made him human, like anyone else.

“Ravio, you can be brave and still be scared.” Marin insisted.

“Mr. Hero is always saying stuff like that.” Ravio muttered, hanging his head. Marin nodded, encouraging him to take that advice.

“And he’s right.” Marin insisted. Ravio didn’t seem convinced, but he silently agreed with her anyway. The two fell into a short silence, and Marin decided to try and take Ravio’s mind off of their mission. She decided to ask Ravio what she’d been intending to ask when she had come that way in the first place.

“Ravio… What’s he like? In the real world I mean? Has he changed since I met him?” She asked carefully. Ravio didn’t respond at first, instead taking the time to pull Sheerow, who’d fallen asleep, off of his shoulder and cradle the tiny bird close. At first she wondered if he’d even heard her, and decided to just call it a night and go to her bedroll. As she went to get up, his voice stopped her.

“Brave.” He whispered, “But sad. He’s very lonely, Miss. Marin. Bitter from everything that has happened to him. He fears growing close to people. It took months before he’d let me in at all. Like me, he worries and cares so much… and because he does, he hurts when that care is punished by loss or hate. He’s a spiteful man, these days. Cursing Hylia’s name and acting like he cares for nothing. I know he does though. I wish he didn’t think he had to pretend otherwise. A man like him doesn’t deserve such a bleak outlook on the world.” Marin’s heart sank. That sounded… sad. He must’ve been through a lot over the years they were apart to have gotten to the point where he tried to stop caring. In her dream, he’d been such a gentle soul. Passionate, soft spoken, and caring. Clearly a little hurt and broken from his line of work, but still happy enough to let go of spite.

But then again… that almost sounded like how he’d behaved before they had all woken up. He came to the Island happy. But as he continued his quest, she remembered that joy quickly left him. Instead replaced by bitter thoughts and sad, foreboding declarations that she hadn’t understood until after she woke up. 

Grief did a lot to change people.

Marin had woken up and was quickly assured the dream had been real.

Link… Link had not been. 

He didn’t even know that they were alive.

He thought he’d killed them.

That he’d killed her.

She wanted to see him then more than she had even when she’d learned he was still alive. If only to tell him that she was fine. To let him know that he’d done a good job. That he’d saved them all. Marin was pulled from thoughts by Ravio’s soft, bitter laugh.

“Being the Hero is hard.” He muttered, “It’s so hard to be brave.”  
And silently, Marin had to agree.


	20. The Battle for Ordona.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle begins.

Link was shaken awake in the afternoon, about six to seven hours after Ravio and Marin woke up and finished loading the wagon and had begun their departure with Shad, Telma, the village children, and the wives. The monsters had gotten to Ordon a day or two before they were supposed to show up. They were beginning their assault. Link found himself standing with Groose, Aura, and Linkle as the four would-be heroes looked from the safety that the shadows of the treeline provided at the jeering creatures that had not yet made their move, but were certainly preparing for an attack. 

“Jeesh.” Linkle muttered, “Glad we got the kids out and left Castle Town when we did.” Link agreed. Had they delayed any longer, the resistance would’ve been cut off from the village with the villagers still trapped inside with several dozen monsters. Monsters that would quickly have snapped the villagers up and torn them to pieces the second they got the chance.

“They’ve got us cut off with our back to the forest and the village.” Link muttered, “But the cavern here near the spring should keep them from attacking all at once, unless they take the back through the Ordon forest and try forcing our men into their horde.” 

“How many do we have?” Linkle asked in thought. Link hiestated.

“Fado, Rusl, Ashei, Auru, Bo, Hanch, Jaggle, Groose, Aura, you, and myself.” Link listed off. Or, eleven. Eleven who’d chosen to stay and protect the village against a battalion. Link really prayed Groose’s back ups would work right or that Linkle’s strategy and his and Aura’s experience would be enough to help these people win with such terrible odds.

“Okay, Groose, get our defenses ready. Aura, go tell Rusl what’s happening. Mr. Link-”

“Stay in the forest.” Link grumbled, showing his annoyance that his fighting space was basically limited to the shady trees until the sun set. Linkle just nodded.

“Make sure they don’t surround the village.” Linkle ordered, “You know the signal if you catch any trying to flank us.” 

“We won’t be able to kill them.” Aura muttered, “They’re infected. It’s hard to fight off this many normal monsters, much less infected.”

“Then we last until nightfall.” Link insisted. Linkle, Groose, and Aura regarded Link with looks of concern.

“I thought you didn’t want these people knowing you used to be one of them.” Groose said, tilting his head.

“Hmm, and they will never learn of it if I let the monsters kill them all.” Link pointed out, “I volunteered to fight. I fight with magic. It was bound to be noticed.” 

“...Hold Ordon until nightfall… got it.” Groose said, before getting up and lumbering off to prepare their defenses. While Ravio and Marin had been helping with packing the wagon most of the night and the morning, Groose had been busy setting up monster traps of his own design all over the forest. Groose then gave Link a map to use to make sure he didn’t accidentally trip into one, since teleporting was a thousand times more difficult in the day time and they didn’t know the exact time the monsters would attack. Linkle had been basically surveying the area like the trained commander she was while Aura, being herself, decided that sharpening weapons and scolding the less skilled villagers about their sloppy footwork was a marvellous way to be productive.

“Remember, the monsters here seem to be primarily Bulblins, from this era, though there are a few monsters like the bokoblins that are from other timelines. Bulblins are smart. Not like normal monsters. Still pretty stupid, but smart enough to be dangerous. Don’t get cocky… Aura. Mr. Link.” Linkle warned.

Link gave a curt nod before saying goodbye to his comrades before basically melting into the forest, summoning a bow and listening carefully for any monsters that tried to get past his heightened senses. It didn’t take long for him to hear the sounds of Groose’s snares and traps setting off or the sound of the villagers bottling the monsters at the town’s entrance, with swords clanging and the thinking of Linkle’s arrows being fired off at monsters. Heck, he could even hear the fury of that demon of a bird, Rapheo, who was likely protecting his owner and tearing apart any monsters that dared to get close to Linkle.

He resisted the urge to run over and fight with them, because at the time, Link knew he simply couldn’t. So… he patrolled the forest. Listening for any monsters that were clever enough to think of going around. Sure, there were steep walls around the village made from earth itself, but the trees around it created the perfect cover for something to sneak behind them. Luckly, he got some action pretty quick as two winged lizard things (Seriously, where were monsters like this when he was in charge?) tried to dive bomb Link from behind. Link reacted pretty quickly, dancing between the pair and shooting up at them. His arrows pierced them, revealing they were infected, which he’d already assumed.

He swapped for his sword, holding up the Blade of Demise as he charged into the beasts. He was briefly caught off guard when the monster froze, mesmerized by the flash of the gemstone at the pommel of his blade. That moment of confusion the monsters found themselves in was enough for Link to gut them- infected or not. Link looked down at the sword, hearing a faint, sleepy chime of approval in his head.

“Oh, you’re gonna help me?” Link chuckled to it, “Funny. Two former servants of the Demon King fighting to protect some random Hero’s village, eh?”  
A faint, but amused chime in response. Link smirked.

“Well then, let's set to work, shall we?” Another chime of approval. Link continued his hunt through the forest and shadows. He came upon a few more, allowing the sword to distract them, as if radiated the power of one of Demise’s fallen, slumbering servants. Link could practically feel the sword’s spite and satisfaction as Link used it to tear through foe after foe. Almost as if it were still the Hylian boy it had been before his corruption and fall, screaming ‘Take that!’ at all of the weaker monsters they killed.

Link’s attention, unfortunately, was drawn from his task of hunting down monsters that tried to flank them when he noticed sharp sound of Linkle playing an ocarina as loudly and as terribly as she could not too far from where he and Demise’s blade where skewering a bokoblin. 

A distress cry.

Link wasted no time in disposing of the monster he was locked in battle with as he darted through the forest and got just to the outskirts of the clearing area. The plan had been to wait until nightfall or push the back towards the bridge and Faron. They were not making progress and it looked like one of the villagers, Hanch, had gotten hurt and was being fiercely protected by Rapheo.

Link scanned the area for shady spots to engage before settling on the good old fashioned way to instigate a fight with a monster.

Get it’s attention.

Swapping for a bow again and staying in his perch in the trees, Link began his work on protecting Hanch and Rapheo while the others tried to hold the line or back it into Faron. He picked off any monsters that tried to get by, showing no mercy as he let his arrows fly. They had gotten the numbers down pretty well, actually. Between Groose’s traps and their lovely position, they were at enough of a strategic advantage to make up for the fact that they were terribly outnumbered.   
After firing off what seemed like the twelve thousandth arrow, the sword on his back began chiming in what sounded like alarm. Link heard movement behind him and forgot his bow, drawing the sword and just barely parrying the one that had nearly cut Link in two. Link’s eyes became saucers when he realized just who’s blade he’d parried. Standing over Link, was a fierce looking, fear inducing, lizalfos that was pitch black in color and bore crimson, intelligent eyes.  
Eyes that were regarding the blade in Link’s hands with a certain horror that Link couldn’t place. All Link could really gauge was that the monster did not seem happy he held it. In fact, it seemed to make the lizard furious. 

“Linkle!” Link gasped, “I might have a problem.” Lizzy pulled its blade back, pacing for a moment in front of Link, its eyes flickering to the line of shadows that gave away to daylight that was directly behind Link. It seemed to give Link a toothy grin, as if it realized from wear it stood, it was cornering him. 

“What’s the matter, traitor?” It hissed in that hauntingly familiar voice, “Scared of a little sun?” 

“Pft. Of course not!” Link said, “Now, we gonna do this or are you gonna just stand there looking at me?” Lizzy sneered.

“Very well.” It declared, before launching itself at Link. Link rolled out of the way, using his stature to his advantage as he narrowly avoided the blade of Lizzy and tried to get to the other side of it so that he’d have more room to maneuver. The sword he held chimed in approval. Link could almost hear a sleepy ‘Well done!’ ring out in the soft, almost unnoticeable note. He took the sword’s encouragement, jabbing forwards and working to get in closer. His weapon was smaller, and therefore, he needed to get in close to land any sort of notable blow. 

He ran Lizzy through completely. 

It just grunted. Looking down at Link as if he had somehow offended it.

Link pulled his blade out quickly, knowing that it took quite a few blows like that to kill an infected monster. However, when he did, he watched in horror as the lizard instantly began to heal. There was no black blood. There was no blood at all. Only darkness that twisted and worked until the puncture was nothing more than a faint and fading scare.

Dark magic.

“Cute.” Lizzy decided, “But it takes more than the sword of our master to end something as powerful as me.” The sword chimed wildly in warning as Link staggered back in surprise, right into several Bulblins that were taking advantage of Lizzy’s distraction to try and get around Link and behind the villagers and resistance members.

“Linkle! Seriously, we’ve gotta get out of here.” Link said frantically.

Linkle finally seemed to notice the predicament Link was in, her face going slack as she turned to Groose and yelled for him to enact plan b. Groose scrambled to work, setting off a rig he’d somehow set up that swept a bunch of monsters off their feet using ropes. Clearing out a route to the Faron bridge. Aura called for the members of the resistance and the villagers to follow after her for the regroup. They didn’t even hesitate, grabbing Hanch and going for the bridge.

Link watched them helplessly, facing going pale as it occurred to him he hadn’t considered what he was going to do for plan b. There was too much light in between Faron and Ordon to simply go the route they were. Unfortunately, Lizzy seemed to notice the panic dawning on Link’s face.

“Let them pass.” Lizzy hissed gleefully, “We’ll corner them in Faron. This one’s the priority.” 

Once Groose was done with his work, he noticed the monsters remaining starting to gang up on Link. Link tore the Blade of Demise through monster after monster, now fighting for his very life and for the life of the Hero. His eyes briefly made contact with Groose, and before Link knew it, the man had his weapon out and was charging into the frey like a crazy person. 

“Mr. Link, into my shadow, now!” Groose ordered frantically.

“But-” Link objected, knowing they’d kill Groose if he did that. 

“Now!” Groose repeated. Link didn’t hesitate to obey that time. Slinking into Groose’s shadow immediately. Link missed the next half of the battle, stuck in the shadows and unable to catch more than a few glimpses of what was going on. Groose somehow managed to get himself away from the lizard and join the others in their frantic retreat. The next thing he knew, he was being launched out of Groose’s shadow, into an empty area of what looked like a tree hollow. Link stood there dazed, wondering what the heck just happened.

“We retreated to the Forest Temple and are barricading it.” Groose said quickly, “Lizzy’s guys are occupying Ordon and trying to take Faron now. Thankfully, this temple is a fortress.”

“How long was I in the-”

“All night.” Groose said gravely, “It’s morning again.” 

“So if we want to get an advantage-”

“We have to wait yet another day.” Groose responded. That was not good news at all.

“...Also… Mr. Link. Sheerow came.” Groose said, “It’s bad news.” Link froze, terrified for a moment that the monsters had come too quickly for the villagers and kids to get to safety. 

“Are they-”

“They got away.” Groose said, “Well, almost. Sheerow had a letter attached to his foot. They were ambushed and they had to fight. All but one managed to escape.”   
Link’s stomach churned.

“Who did they take?”


	21. The Road to Kakariko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way to Kakariko, there is an ambush...

Marin kept looking worriedly behind them. A sense of unease and dredd seemed to follow after them the longer they went. She kept gripping the reigns tighter and tighter every time someone in the wagon mentioned that they thought they had heard something. It had only been a few hours since they’d left Ordon and Faron behind, and already the children in the wagon were getting restless. Telma and Shad were doing what they could to keep them settled down while Marin just focused on trotting ahead as Ravio chattered in a very nervous manner.

She assumed the man was just trying to keep them all from thinking about the battle they had just left their loved ones to fight while also trying to steal and calm his own jittery nerves. He told ridiculous story after ridiculous story, making the children giggle, their mothers manage thing smiles, and resolving some of the tension in the air that seemed to cling to her and Ravio.

“Back in my kingdom I was an advisor to a lovely princess called Hilda, my sister.” Ravio said quickly.

“Wouldn’t that make you the prince and not the advisor, Mr. Bunny?” Beth giggled.

“Pft. One would think, wouldn’t they? After all, I do have the charm to be of royal descent.” Ravio turned to look at them and tilted his head as if to present himself in his full glory to them. They all chuckled at the ridiculous gesture before going silent and allowing Ravio to continue his story.

“Anyways, I was her loyal advisor and there was a great evil in the land that took the form of a terribly dressed Gerudo artist named Yuga.” Ravio continued on. Shad in the back seat perked up. He’d been very interested in Ravio’s stories since he’d begun them. Apparently hearing about cultures outside of Hyrule, even if they were being talked about through Ravio’s extravagant tales, seemed to peak his interest.

“Gerudo? The sisters of the Gerudo tribe haven’t been heard of in centuries! They fled Hyrule when their leader was executed some time ago. Those that remained in Hyrule were-” Shad started, but Ravio cut him off quickly. Thankfully so, considering talking about that touchy subject was likely not what they needed to hear while they were all so on edge. 

“Well, this man was a Gerudo.” Ravio interrupted.

“A male Gerudo! How exquisite!” Shad gasped, and Telma glared at the man for interrupting again. He met her eyes and gulped at the intimidating woman.

“Er, continue.”

“And this Gerudo liked going around and turning people into paintings.” Ravio summarized. Instantly the kids began to spout out their disbelief and mutter how that was simply impossible Turning people into paintings? Who had heard of such a crazy idea?

“And Hilda made a deal with Yuga that he would help her steal a treasure from this kingdom of Hyrule in order to save her kingdom from crumbling.” Ravio went on, completely ignoring the protests about the painting thing. 

“Mr. Ravio, stop talking.” Ravio cut his story off, staring at Uli, Rusl’s wife and Colin’s mother who was cradling her daughter close to her chest. The woman had sat up straight and had a worried expression flickering over her features. Marin slowed the horses to a trott and they all went deathly quiet. They strained their ears, listening for whatever Uli had heard. 

Then they heard the sounds of low snarling and trotting feet. Sera, the general store keeper, looked suddenly confused, and pulled her daughter closer to her, despite the protests of Beth. Pergie did the same with her two sons, while Colin somehow managed to escape his mother’s grasp, grabbing up the little sword he’d brought along just as Shad and Telma got their own weapons ready at the odd sound.

“What is that?” Sera asked, though her sons, Talo and Malo exchanged worried looks as if they knew what the sound was. Ilia, the eldest of the kids, looked absolutely terrified as she leaned close to the front of the wagon where Ravio and Marin were seated.

“We need to get out of here.” Ilia hissed, “Now!” Marin did not need to be told twice as she thacked the reigns, spurring the horses to go from an unsteady trott to a full on gallop. She knew with all of the passengers in their wagon that such an action was not preferred for the horses, but at the moment, she knew they had no choice. Ravio pulled out his hammer, instructing Sheerow to lay low and stay in the wagon with the children as they began to pick up speed. 

Marin stole only a glance behind her and realized what was after them. 

A bunch of monsters, Bulblins, Linkle had called these ones before they left, were on their tails riding boars. At least, Marin assumed these were the apparently intelligent Bulblins that Linkle had mentioned were indigenous to that era. One, a very large one on the biggest of the boars, raised a hunting horn and let it sound off. Fear shot through Marin as she realized the monsters had noticed their attempt to escape Ordon and were now trying to track them down and catch them. 

Talo scrambled out of his momma’s grasp, whining about being babied as he went for a little bow he’d wisely remembered to bring along. The boy scrambled past Ilia, Colin, Telma, and Shad, who watched the oncommers in the back with clear unease. The bow readied his bow and let arrows fly. 

“Atta boy!” Shad said in delight upon witnessing how good an eye Talo actually had. The boy managed to hit a few of their assailants as they rushed along. Injuring any Bulblins that dared to draw close to their wagon. His mom seemed very, very worried about this stunt of his, but Shad and the children were now cheering Talo on. After all, he was currently their best defense. If the monsters got any closer, they would have to actually draw their weapons, get out, fight, and risk being carted away to be eaten by the monsters. Marin was so distracted by the monsters, that she cried out in alarm when they came to where the bridge was supposed to be.

“No!” Ravio cried out, and Marin’s heart seemed to jump up her throat as she realized that the monsters had blown the bridge, which had been the most direct route to Kakariko. They were trying to cut off their escape routes.

“Go left and around them!” Ilia called, “We’ll have to go the long way.”

“The long way is gonna leave us vulnerable and give us just the time they need to overcome us.” Ravio countered. Marin set her jaw, knowing both of them were right. Sadly, they had no choice.

“If you can fight, be ready.” Marin said, before spurring the horses back into motion and altering their course. Her eyes narrowed in determination as a new urgency seemed to fill her with adrenaline. The passengers of their wagon let out protests and the wagon jerked and teetered dangerously. She was careful not to let it turn over though. 

“Hey!” Talo objected, “Do you mind? I’m trying to save you guys here!” Marin ignored the boy. She barely avoided a straggling Bulblin that attempted to tear a gash into the canvas of the wagon’s covering. She urged the horses silently to go faster.

“They have archers!” Beth gasped.

“No.” Telma said, “I remember this. They tried to ambush this wagon some years ago whenever Link was helping Ilia and I escort the Prince of Zoras to Kakariko. 

“They’re gonna set the wagon on fire.” Ilia said with dread in her voice. This comment was what called Ravio into action. The man summoned one of his many magical rods, this one being the tornado rod, and swung himself into the back of the wagon.

“I’ll keep it from catching.” He promised, “Talo, keep shooting. The rest of you, take cover. That canvas tarp will not stop all the arrows from reaching you.” Marin had to smile a little at Ravio taking charge despite the desperate situation. And to think this man thought himself a coward? They obeyed. The mothers got under their packs, holding their kids close. Colin still hadn’t rejoined his mom, but had retrieved a shield and was holding it at ready in case an arrow came his way. Ravio set to work using his tornado rod, making sure very few arrows reached them and ensuring any that met their mark didn’t burn long enough to threaten their wagon and it’s passengers.

They were almost to the second path to Kakariko now. Just a little ways more and…

“The path is blocked!” Marin cried in worry. Sure enough, a bunch of rumble and rocks covered the path completely. Marin had to halt the horses and thus ruin their chances of escape. Ravio actually swore under his breath, which was weird coming from him and typically frowned upon in the presence of children. No one objected to him doing so though.

“I have bombs.” He said, “I’ll set two charges. One to clear the path and another, more delayed to reblock the path so we can escape. I need time though. Miss. Marin, start singing. The rest of you…”

“We’ll handle this.” Telma promised, “Hurry.” Ravio nodded, shoving his tornado rod into Sela’s hands and telling her urgently to keep the wagon from catching. He then scrambled back to the front, trembling terribly as he did so, and jumped out, racing towards the blockade of rubble. Talo shoved his bow into Ilia’s hands, going and grabbing his own flimsy blade. Beth grabbed one of Shad’s books, looking ready to hit things upside the head with it. Malo kinda just scowled, but edged closer to his mom in an almost protective manner. Telma and Shad jumped out of the wagon with Talo and Colin, with swords at ready. 

Malon took a deep breath.

And she began to sing.

The monster’s charge instantly slowed as they were dazed by the magic in her voice. The four sword wielders did not complain, instead, taking advantage of Marin’s spell to attack the stunned monsters. She did not stop singing as she gripped the reigns even tighter and watched Ravio work diligently and frantically to put the bombs in place and set them up to explode at the correct times. 

The clashing of swords and the sounds of their sword weilder’s weapons slashing through the monsters seemed to ring in Marin’s ears, but she did not let that falter her song. She couldn’t. Because the second she stopped singing was the second she knew the monsters would snap out of their confused attempts at fighting and actually kill their less experienced opponents. And the fact that two of those opponents were literally children was enough for Marin to sing and sing, no matter how much the magic of it seemed to drain her. 

Ravio scrambled away from his work and back to Marin.

“You have a full minute after the first explosion to get through.” He warned. Marin nodded, her voice wavering ever so slightly. He turned to the fighters.

“Get back in! Just use the bow. We can’t risk leaving anyone behind.” He warned. Just as the warning was given, the area shook as an explosion pierced the air. The sound startled Marin out of her song as she gasped, slapping her hands over her ears and forgetting the reigns. The second she stopped singing, the monsters became a lot more aggressive. Telma and Shad began trying to usher Colin and Talo towards the wagon, climbing in and pulling Talo in and going to pull Colin in next. The attempt was stopped by a Bulblin charging at the wagon and Colin purposefully letting go of Telma to fend it off. Ravio swore again. He was really shaking now, clearly freaking out but trying not to show it because everyone else was on the verge of freaking out too. 

“Watch Sheerow and get them through. I’ve got the kid.” He ordered, before darting off as if he were actually a rabbit and pulling out his hammer. Marin nodded, and the horses began to rush through the path as she heard the fuse Ravio had lit fizzing to completion. She looked back briefly to see Ravio land on top of the Bulbin fighting the Ordonan child before grabbing the kid and practically throwing him into the wagon. He scrambled to jump in himself as Marin horses picked up their pace. His fingers gripped the wood of the wagon just barely and Marin was certain they were almost in the clear. Then there was a strangled cry from Ravio and the kids started really getting upset. Marin cleared the blast area and looked back to see a horrifying sight. 

The large Bulbin had caught Ravio by his scarf and had pulled him back to the other side of where the rocks were going to land. It had Ravio, who had fainted with fear, in his meaty grasp and was holding the boy’s limp form up as if daring their group to turn back and get him. Marin abandoned the reins, jumping off the wagon herself to race and save him before the path was blown. The Bulblin smirked, seeing her approach and tossed Ravio over his shoulder, the action causing the rabbit hood he was always wearing to finally give into gravity and fall off his head, revealing a mess of shaggy and dark violet hair.

For a moment, she thought she was dreaming again, for she thought she saw her Link instead of Ravio as everything seemed to slow and her outstretched hand was jerked back with the rocking of an explosion. The explosion ended up cutting her off and taking Ravio out of her line of view. Rocks filled the path. Ringing deafened her ears so that the only thing she could hear was the strangled cry for her friend.

“Ravio!”


	22. The Twilight.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While recovering in the Forest Temple, the Heroes Shadow makes an... interesting discovery.

After Link fixed up his appearance, Groose took him back to the main room near the entrance where the others had set up camp and their barricades. 

“I found him!” Groose announced, as if Link had been missing. To the villagers and resistance members, it likely seemed like he had been. Jaggle scoffed upon seeing Link enter.

“Oh, how in the world did he get in here? Where the heck have you been? We just got our tails handed to us!” He snapped. Link flinched, instantly shrinking at Jaggle’s aggravation, “I mean, honestly, I thought you were some fancy swordsman like our Link that was gonna help us up front. Instead you run around trees and shoot arrows instead of being useful. And then we find you here, which means you must’ve retreated before we did.” Groose settled a sturdy hand on Link’s shoulder and glared at the man.

“Watch it. He just found out his best friend got captured and likely killed because he was protecting your kids.” Groose warned, “And Mr. Link did everything he could.” 

“Ravio wasn’t my best friend.” Link grumbled, “But he was pretty close to it at this point.” 

“Oh, sure.” Jaggle huffed, “All I know is that most of the fight you were doing something off to the side or M.I.A. Miss. Linkle said you were watching our flank, but they still flanked us anyways! Not to mention, you could’ve come out of that treeline and actually helped us instead of hiding like a coward.” 

“Jaggle!” Rusl said sternly, “That’s enough! Mr. Link, I’m sure you tried everything you could to slow them down. I’m sorry about him. He’s just worried. We’re kinda in a bad spot right now if you haven’t noticed.” Link just nodded numbly, before plopping down next to Linkle and Aura, running his fingers through his black hair in worry. He knew he should be focused on getting out of their current predicament, but all he could do was wonder what became of the purple clad rabbit man. Was he even still alive? Monsters didn’t usually take prisoners. Sometimes the more intelligent ones did, but the ones the smart ones took were normally dead within a few hours. Ravio had been taken, according to Telma and Marin’s letter, yesterday while they were fighting. The poor guy was probably monster chow at this point. 

Gosh, what was he going to tell the Hero of Legend?

“He’s alive.” Link looked up to see Linkle smiling over at him, “Ravio’s smart and resourceful. He’ll survive this.” 

“Maybe.” Aura grumbled under her breath, being ever the optimist. Linkle fixed Aura with a glare.

“He’ll survive.” She repeated. Aura rolled her eyes and turned her face away.

“Hmph. Whatever makes you happy.” She huffed, “But I wouldn’t bet on it. Monsters don’t just let Hylians go. Heck, they don’t just not kill a Hylian whenever they find one. I’ve been in the wilderness long enough to see what happens when one gets their claws on someone. It’s not pretty.” 

“Yes, but they are different in your Hyrule.” Linkle insisted. 

“Monsters are monsters. No matter the era.” Aura said bluntly, “Smart or not, they’re all savage and cruel.”

“Even me?” Link muttered, not really thinking about it. Aura swiveled her head back towards Link, eyes wide.

“Oh… Uh, no! I didn’t mean-” Link just rolled his eyes.

“I know what you mean.” Link said, “I’m not trying to take offense. I know what you mean… but that lizard… he’s disturbingly as clever as I am. If the monsters that took Ravio work for him, who knows what the lizard will do with Ravio? He might kill him or he might keep him as leverage. I know I would. Heck, I did on several occasions when I was…” Link had to trail off, noticing that a few of the Resistance members had suddenly noticed the conversation he and the girls were having. He swallowed, choosing his words more carefully now.

“The point is, there’s no telling what happened to him. The chance is… Ravio’s probably already dead.”

“But there’s still a chance he’s not.” Linkle said confidently. 

“But he would be better off dead.” Link sighed, “Because if he’s still alive, then that means the lizard has him. You don’t want to know what servants or creatures of darkness like to do to their prisoners. Some of the things I watched Vaati do…” Link shuttered, hugging his knees with his brows knitting with worry, “...And if the lizard really does have him… Linkle, I ran that thing through with my sword. It didn’t even bleed! It didn’t even notice! The injury healed immediately! We can’t kill that thing as we are right now.” 

“Then we figure out how we can kill it.” Linkle insisted, “Come on, Mr. Link. It’s Ravio! We can’t just leave him. He’s probably really freaking out right now.” Link closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to think of anything, anything at all that could help them take back Ordon and save Ravio. That's when he perked up a little.

Why?

Because he sensed shadow magic buzzing in the air of the temple. It was a lingering of an ancient power of shadow that seemed to have been in the temple they rested in not too many years ago. How had he not noticed it earlier? It was so thick in the air it was walking through magical syrup. It didn’t matter if it was still midday! Magic was literally everywhere in that place. 

Link was on his feet in a matter of seconds, raking his fingers through the air and letting them feel the magic better. Flashes of what had happened there. Fused shadows. A member of a race that was made from magic as he was walking through with the Hero of Twilight and claiming the relic. 

“What are you doing?” Groose asked in confusion. Link snapped his eyes open. Not noticing that they were now red.

“Guys… there's shadow magic here. Like a seriously crazy amount of it.” 

“Magic?” Jaggle scoffed, “How on Earth is that gonna help us!? No one here can use magic!” Rusl silenced him.

“Wait… two years ago Hyrule was attacked by a race of shadowy creatures.” Rusl realized. Auru nodded in agreement.

“The resistance and Link helped put a stop to the attacks.” 

“But how does that help us?” Ashei questioned. Link didn’t respond, he just steadied his hands, focusing and letting his Hylian disguise melt away completely as he drew in the syrupy shadows that lurked within the temple. Those who didn’t know what Link was reacted in various forms of surprise. The villagers instantly proclaimed Link as some kind of demon. The resistance members drawing their blades or getting in a defensive stance. He ignored them, collecting the shadows together until they formed…

“A mirror?” Link asked, a bit surprised, but now a little scared. In his hands there was a tiny hand mirror. Magic kept pouring into it, pulling from not just the forest temple anymore, but from all the places where that brand of shadow magic had been festering since the Hero of Twilight’s quest ended. It twisted and took form as a mirror… an object that the ruler of Twilight had longed to possess for reasons beyond Link’s understanding, right before she left the world of light entirely. He looked down, expecting to see his reflection. Instead, he saw a woman on a throne. A woman with ethereal red hair and black white skin with intricate designs that matched the patterns on the mirror etched all over her body. 

“What the heck are you?” Jaggle demanded trying to stalk up to Link with a sword in hand. Groose stopped him, and Mayor Bo tried to get the man to calm down despite he himself looking a bit troubled by Link’s true appearance. 

“What are we going to use that for?” Linkle asked, pushing herself to her feet and looking down at it. Her face went slack when she noticed the image shimmering on it.

“Mr. Link… That’s Midna! The Princess of the Twilight Realm! She helped the Hero of Twilight defeat a Twili named Zant and helped him kill Ganon! She fought in the war with me and my brother. She’s one of the most powerful users of shadow magic I have ever met. Twili’s, like you, are literally made from the stuff and do pretty terribly in sunlight. They are stronger than Sheikahs when it comes to this.”

“Do you think she would help us?” Link asked, cocking her head towards the girl. Linkle swallowed. Looking doubtful.

“We’d have to get to her first. She destroyed the only gate between our world and hers after what happened here two years ago. Then… well… you’d have to convince her.” Linkle admitted, “She’s not malevolent. But if you want her on your side, you have to prove to her why your cause is worth her time. She doesn’t just help anyone.”

“Would she help us if she knew the Hero of Twilight’s life is on the line?” Link asked. Linkle once more looked thoughtful.

“...Without a doubt.” She agreed, “But how are you going to-”

“I can teleport, Linkle.”

“Well, yeah, but not across dimensions!”

“How’d you think I used to get in and out of the Dark World?”

“That was before you died and lost most of your powers though.” Aura pointed out. 

“Well, if I use the concentrated magic I just pulled from the air and the combined strength of myself and Ghirahim… I think I could pull it off… theoretically.” Link looked up at his teammates for their opinions. They all looked a little skeptical of the idea, but at the moment, they were running out of options, seeing as they were barricaded in a temple with one man likely being held hostage and the sun still up for several hours before Link could even hope to help more… a few hours they all knew they didn’t have considering the lizard would make his move at any given minute. Back up wasn’t supposed to even show up for a few days. A few days they simply did not have.

“Do it.” Aura said firmly.

“We’ll hold the fort until you get back.” Groose promised

“And tell Minda I said hi.” Linkle offered.

Link then mentally asked the sword if it would be fine, considering he needed it’s help. The sword didn’t care, so long as it got to kill things when they were done. Link could work with that. 

“I’ll be back in a few then, I guess.” Link promised. Before drawing the sword, raising it high in the air, and pouring all of his magic into entering the Twilight. Not even a second later, everything went dark.


	23. Ravio and the Lizard.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravio wakes up as a prisoner to the dark lizard.

Ravio began to regain consciousness, but he kept his form completely still as panic seized through him. He felt course roped bound tightly around his arms and torso and on his wrists, which were bound behind him. He was tied to some sort of post, in a sitting position, with his back firmly secured against the wooden pillar. He couldn’t see a thing.

The ropes around him seemed to constrict around his body like a boa that had just caught it’s prey, the rabbit, and was ready to feast. The very thought made Ravio’s heart race with fear. He knew what monsters did with the Hylians they managed to get a hold of. The Bulblin race might’ve been smarter than most, and therefore caught and preserved their prey until the time was right to kill them. That sadly did not change what they did to anyone they got their claws on.   
He was already as good as dead, and he knew it.

Ravio got over his disorientation and tried shoving the terror knotting in his stomach in waves only for the fear to become sharper and more real whenever he realized his scarf was not on his neck, but it had been pulled up, over his eyes and knotted painfully tight to keep him from seeing. That was not what worried him. What worried him was that the familiar, comforting weight of his rabbit hood was not on his head. They had taken it off. 

Ravio choked on a small sob of fear, now trembling. 

They took his hood.

He was vaguely aware of the grunts of monsters and Bulblins around him and flinched as he heard a few walk over and jab at him experimentally. None of them really hurt Ravio, but he was mortified when a more intelligent Bulblin came lumbering over, bragging about how they caught him and about their plans for him.

“Yeah! Boss says rabbits are really good.” It insisted in a voice that had Ravio convinced that the Bulblin was smiling at him. Flashing terrible teeth and licking his lips like some sort of cruel savage. It made him glad they blindfolded him, even for a second. Not being allowed to see the terrible monsters that now kept him captive was both relieving, yet even more terrifying than simply knowing what waited for him. After all, the unknown was dangerous and scary. 

Ravio bit back a small squeak of fear as the Bulblin that had decided to tell him all about the meal they had planned that night got suddenly closer, poking him on the shoulder a few times.

“Rabbits are good. Rabbit will taste good.” 

“Away from the prisoner!” A voice demanded, and Ravio let out a breath of relief upon hearing the monster scramble away. The fear quickly returned however upon hearing heavier footsteps drawing close. Suddenly he felt the breath of a much larger monster than a Bulblin on his neck and long claws gripped firmly around his shoulders, digging into his tunic and even his skin. 

“Hero of Lorule.” The voice purred, “Glad to finally meet you.” 

“H-how… h-how do you-” Ravio somehow managed to stammer.

“I make it my business to know all about the man destined to deliver the killing blow to me.” The voice said. Blood drained from Ravio’s face. It was the lizard. Ravio didn’t really process much more than that before suddenly it’s claws tightened on him.

“But now. We can’t have you killing me, can we, little Hero?” The lizard purred, “But also, we can’t leave that foolish shadow running about, can we? How about you help me out, Lorulen prince. Lend me some of your courage. Together we can slay that monster, and finally get everything I’ve ever wanted. Once I have what I want from him, these other ones will be stranded here, right where I can find them, track them down, and kill them for foolishly believing the could hope to stand against me.” One of the claws left his shoulder, grabbing his chin from behind and turning his head so his ear was right near its mouth, if the fiery hot breath said anything. 

“But I get ahead of myself… See… You have my dear shadow, Hero. I want it back. You’ll get it back for me without so much as a fight. He’ll come on his own, and I will destroy him. But first… I want him to see you again. Right before I let him know your sentence for plotting to kill me.” The lizard said quickly, “After all, you cannot honestly expect me to let you live for such a crime. I’m sure you’ve heard the monster’s chatter, your highness. A battalion like this has many mouths to feed.” 

“P-please…” Ravio said, the word barely leaving his lips and coming out so soft and rattled that it didn’t even sound like he’d spoken, “Please…” 

“The shadow will be mine before the sun sets. I promise you. And once he is mine and the sun is down, that sentence for your ghastly crimes, both against me and against your people, will be carried out swiftly and without mercy. Too bad the shadow won’t be around to watch that part of the evening.” The lizard then let go of Ravio, letting the merchant sag as much as he could in his bonds and clicking its tongue in a chastising manner. He felt ill. ‘Pay for his crimes?’ what a terrible and familiar situation. Caught and useless as he was told gleefully by his soon to be executioner what he’d done wrong and reminded of how very little time he had left before he paid for it.

“Look at you.” It decided, “Pathetic, really. Just like the first Ravio of Lorule. As much a failure as his ancestors, this one. Honestly, Hero, what did you expect? You knew what was destined to happen the second you accepted this quest. You could’ve lived. Could’ve been the first Hero of your world to survive simply because you got another from this world to do your job the right way. But instead of hiding in your rabbit hole like the coward you are… hehe, you actually convinced yourself you were able to do more as a Hero than just die and make everything worse. How quaint. You should’ve known better, Hero. Your fate was sealed the moment you were conceived. You should’ve died a long time ago… on the very day of your birth, in fact! Well, this is what you get for trying to escape the wrath of your world’s goddesses.”

Ravio couldn’t hold back the tears springing in his eyes under the blindfold anymore. He hated that he agreed with the lizard’s assessment. After all, he had cheated fate by recruiting Mr. Hero. Surely this was just how that cheating would finally come back to get him. He was supposed to die and the goddesses of Lorule wouldn’t let him escape it, would they? 

The lizard rifled Ravio’s dark hair, almost as if trying to comfort him.

“But don’t worry, little prince. You don’t have to try and fight against mistress fate any more. It’s almost over. You have at most five more hours left, and then it will all be over.” The lizard promised, “Though I would use your time wisely… too bad you’re all tied up. Rather difficult to get one's affairs in order when he’s bound and blinded.” The lizard pulled his claws from Ravio’s hair, letting out one last mighty cackle. He then left Ravio alone. The second his footsteps were gone. Ravio sucked in a breath, tears now breaching the fabric of his scarf and making their way down his face.

In five hours, he was going to be turned into a meal for monsters, and there was nothing he could do about it.


	24. Shadow Makes a Friend.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, in the Twilight Realm...

When Link’s vision cleared, he realized the feeling of being around shadow magic had tripled. He blinked, looking down at himself because he felt a faint tinkling on his skin. His eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. His normally pale or ashen colors skin was now midnight black with intricate Twili patterns running over his skin. He quickly grasped his hair, discovering that only the tips of it were purple now. The rest was Twili red. 

“I didn’t even will myself to look like this…” He mumbled to himself, “Perhaps a side effect of being a shadow being like the Twili and stepping into their realm?” He, of course, got no response. Not even the sword seemed talkative, but seemed in a deeper sleep since it gave some of it’s precious energy to get them there in the first place. 

“...It’s probably for the best. A Hylian, Sheikah, or whatever the heck my true form is supposed to be would raise alarms, wouldn’t it?” No response. The realm he stood in was eerily quiet and calm, “Focus Link. Find the Princess lady, get help. Save Ravio. Save Ordon. Kill the lizard. Save my brothers.” With that little pep talk, he nodded to himself and began to walk. There seemed to be some Twili structures not too far from him. He passed by several Twili as he went, but they rushed about, completely silent and barely paying him any attention. It was a little creepy. Then again, Link used to live in and pretty much rule the dark world. So, really, he couldn’t complain. 

He found the largest of the buildings and assumed it to be the palace. He was about to enter, but two spears crossed in front of his path and he was blocked by too large Twili that wore sheilds on their faces for whatever reason.

“None may enter without the permission of the Queen.” One of the guards bellowed. Link swallowed hard, faltering in his advance.

“Um, I need to see Queen Midna immediately. It’s an emergency.” He said quickly, “My name is Shadow Link. I’m a friend of the Hero. It’s urgent. Could you please get permission from her to let me pass?” The two guards seemed to trade looks, dipsite having shields for faces. One relented, and moved from his post.

“Remain here, young one.” He ordered, “Pray you are not wasting the Queen’s time, or you will pay dearly.” Link nodded quickly, clutching his fists and rocking on his feet impatiently. He had to wait for a good amount of time before the Twili guard returned.

“Leave your weapon at the door. The Queen requests to meet with you.” He said simply. Link swallowed, unhooking the sheath of his blade from his outfit and setting Ghirahim down gently. The sword weakly objected to being left behind, but was too sleepy to really do more than chime faintly. Link then hooked the mirror to his belt before letting the guards grab each arm and harshly escort him into the palace as two more guards took over their post. He let his eyes wander over the intricate designs that littered all of the Twili architecture. Every so often he’d notice a guard or a Twili servant scuffling about, but, for the most part, they were rather silent as well. 

It was unsettling.

Finally, Link was brought to two large, ornate doors that were opened slowly and ever so dramatically. 

The doors gave way to a large courtroom where multiple well dressed Twilight were gathered. A council of some sort. Sitting on a throne at the end of this court was the Twili that Link had seen in his mirror. Midna.

She smirked upon seeing him and sat up in her throne, giving him a sadistic look that Link had caught himself wearing many times when he was thinking of something terrible, but absolutely brilliant. In fact,he could already tell just by one silent look over that this woman was a lot like him. The two were kindred spirits, and neither one seemed at all willing to hide their blaring similarities as Link offered her the same sort of smirk. 

“Kneel.” One of the guards holding Link hissed, going to shove Link down. Link obeyed with now hesitation, getting on his knees, but not lowering his head as he kept his eyes locked with hers.

“This is the one you said was outside the palace walls?” Midna asked with one eyebrow slightly raised, “He’s just a child. I don’t see the cause for alarm.” Link frowned, getting a sudden sense of unease. Had they not told her why he was there?

“The boy was trying to infiltrate your walls.” One of the men holding him lied. Link’s eyes widened. Something was very, very wrong.

“W-wait!” He objected.

“Silence in the presence of the Queen.” The guard snapped. Link rolled his eyes and ignored him.

“My name is Link!” He declared anyway. There was immediately a mutter throughout the court as Midna got a stormy expression on her face.

“He’s a spy.” The guard cut off, continuing his lie, “Likely one of the men who worked for Zant in usurping you two years ago."

“The heck are you talking about!?” Link snarled, baring his fangs, “My name is Shadow Link. I told you that outside of the walls. I’m a friend to the Hero. I’ve come from the world of light. I’m from Hyrule.” 

“Impossible!” A councilmen hissed, “No one can enter the Light World or enter the Twilight Realm. The path has been destroyed and no Twili can survive two years in the Realm of Light. Midna, truly he must be a spy or deserter. His claims are preposterous!” Link shot him an aggravated glare before letting some of his magic do it’s work. 

Suddenly, he was in the form of the Hero of Twilight, looking up at Midna with pleading eyes, “Please, your majesty. He is in grave danger. There’s a new threat. If he succeeds in his mission against the Heroes of Courage, no one will be safe again. Not even Twili. I don’t know why they don’t want me to tell you this, but it’s the truth. I’m an ally. I’m the Shadow of the Hero. My brother is Link, Hero of Men. And the Hero of Twilight’s home is in trouble. The Hero himself is missing and has been taken from his own era and being dragged through time aimlessly and without any means of returning home on his own accord. I tried to stop it… but the dark one is too strong. I need help… advice… anything!” Objections rang through the court at Link’s requests and his claims. It was very clear that none of the Twili trusted his word, hence why they were lying about his reasons for being there. His coming there was really starting to backfire.

“Silence!” Midna said in a very loud, stern voice. The court went deathly silent again. Link flinched, suddenly wishing they would all argue again. The quiet was a lot more nerve racking in a place like the Twilight than noise was. The Queen rose from her throne, walking up to the boy kneeling before her, studying his pleading features with interest.

“Convince me.” She ordered, “Convince me you aren’t a spy, and I will let you walk out of here with your life intact. Convince me you need my help, and I will offer it. Tell me exactly what’s going on. Don’t leave anything out.” Link swallowed hard, before taking a steadying breath.

“It all started centuries ago, on the day I was created.” Link began. He then launched into his story, about the dark mirror and the shadow magic that Ganon and Vaati used to make him. He explained his struggles against the four parts of the Hero of Men, before eventually befriending one, coming to accept them as his brothers, and betraying Ganon and Vaati at the cost of his life. He then explained waking up in a different version of the Dark World, where the enemy had attempted to ritualistically sacrifice his shadow magic in order to corrupt the Heroes of Courage. He went to explain the cycle, but she prevented him from doing so, claiming she already knew about it. He continued on to tell about his five recruits. The five destined to kill the dark force that had taken the Heroes of Courage. Finally, he explained the failed Battle of Ordona and how Ravio, one of the chosen five, had been taken and was either dead, or being held against his will as a form of leverage against the heroes by the dark force.

Midna was a good listener. She only made a few comments or asked a couple questions. Her council, however, objected and declared already that Link had to be lying. He tried not to lash out at them and focus on telling Midna what was going on. The Queen of Twilight listened intently. She showed no signs of believing or disbelieving him. Finally, as he reached his conclusion, she stepped back from Link, turning away from him and resting her hand on her chin in thought.

“Mmm that is quite the tale. Difficult to believe.” She chuckled a little, shooting him a sly smile as she turned her head towards him, “Whatever shall I do with this information? Or with you?”

“Kill him.” One council member suggested, “If he’s lying, then we’ve destroyed a traitor. If he’s honest, then we’ve taken the Shadow from the dark one’s grasps entirely.”

“He’ll just bring me back again.” Link argued, “And then he’ll have me again. Something tells me if he gets his hands on me, then he will be a lot more careful not to let me get away a second time. The dark one gets me? It’s game over… for everyone. Even you.”

“Then lock him up.” Another tried, “So long as he’s with us, the dark one won’t reach him.”

“If he can jump time and jump realities on his own free will as well as jerk the Heroes of Courage and a whole bunch of monsters that he infected all over the time stream, what in Hylia’s name makes you actually think holding me in the Twilight Realm is going to stop him? You’ll just endanger your people and your kingdom.” Mutters of unease filled the courtroom. He had a point, after all. This started up more arguing and Link was starting to wonder how the heck these people got anything done. No wonder the common Twili were so quiet. Their council was so annoying and loud, that no one else wanted to be as annoying as they were. 

“Enough. Let the boy go and let him rise. The council is dismissed for the evening. I want to talk to him alone.” Midna snapped. 

“But, my Queen.” Someone objected.

“Are you questioning my judgement?” Midna hissed. They all seemed to gulp collectively. Midna rolled her eyes at their reaction, as if she couldn’t believe the idiots worked for her. Link could relate. He really could. 

“Just scram.” She advised. They didn’t need to be told another time as they all rushed to get the heck out, leaving Midna alone with Link. The second they were gone, Midna’s shoulders relaxed and her face flashed with relief.

“Sorry about those morons, Link.” She said quickly, “Anytime the Hero is mentioned, they kinda get uneasy. You showing up and telling them you knew the Hero rattled them. They likely wanted me to execute you so that what happened two years ago didn’t repeat. Therefore, they lied about why you came.” 

“...They have my sword…” Link said with worry. Midna waved that off.

“I’ll have my servants fetch it for you. Worry not.” She explained, “The mirror on your belt… let me see it.” Link grabbed it and handed it to her. She examined the odd mirror gingerly, as if she was terrified that the slightest movement would shatter it. Link got that. Mirrors like that really bothered Link after what had killed him the first time around. 

“You say you made this from the remaining Twilight Magic that lingered in the Light World?” Midna questioned. Link nodded.

“...And you once acted as the ruler of a dark world?” Another nod.

“Yes, but it wasn’t the Twilight Realm.” Link admitted, “It was mostly just Hyrule, but not at the same time… if that makes any sense.” Midna shrugged.

“Not really, but whatever. I don’t really care. All that matters is that you ruled it. Meaning, like me, you are one of the very few people born with the ability to shatter and create paths through worlds… and apparently time. I cut off all means of traveling to and from this world and Hyrule… but you had the power inside of you needed to reconnect them.” 

“Queen Midna… I’m sorry. I know you must’ve done that for a reason, but I’m desperate. I’m a shadow and the dark one is really handicapping my magic. I can only do so much.” 

“Don’t be sorry.” Midna said sharply, “...Link…” Her voice wavered and she looked him over, looking less fierce than she had before and seemingly on the verge of crying, “...Link, thank you.” He had not really expected that. She drew the mirror close to her.

“May I keep this?” She requested.

“Are you going to break that one too?” Link asked. 

“I want a path back to the Light World.” Midna admitted, “...I was wrong to cut the path. A year ago… and if you know Linkle, you might know something about this, I was pulled out of time into the World of Light by the Guardian of Time, a woman called Cia. She was trying to use me against the Hero of War, but because of my love for the Hero of Twilight, I refused and fought for the Hylians. It was during this war that I realized why doing something like that was… wrong. The Twilight Realm and Hyrule are opposites, yes, but separating them for fear that we might clash again is stupid. That’s like banishing the races of Hyrule simply because the Hylians can’t swim as well as Zora or aren’t as strong as the Goron. We could be great allies with Hylians, and the Hylians, with their Hero and magic of Light, could be allies to us.”   
Midna lowered the mirror, looking ashamed, “But after the War, I was sent back here and realized I was cut off from Hyrule again. I’ve been looking for a way to repair the path, but my council has hindered me, because they were just as scared of history repeating as I had been when I broke the Mirror of Twilight to begin with… and then... You come and bring me this. A brand new mirror of Twilight. One I can hide and use however I see fit. If you allow me to keep it, I will come with you to the Light World long enough to save Ordon and rescue your friend. I won’t be able to stay long. The council isn’t going to approve of any of this and my people need their Queen. I can’t help you kill the dark one, but I can drive him away long enough for you to figure out how to do it yourself.” 

“Well then, it’s yours.” Link agreed, gesturing to the mirror. Midna smiled, pleased with being allowed to keep it. She snapped her fingers and it vanished. To where, Link didn’t know, but he assumed she’d be able to summon it whenever they needed it.

“We’ll get your sword and set off immediately.” She said simply.


	25. A Trap for a Shadow.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The allies in the Forest Temple get a visitor.

“So you mean to tell us that… that thing is Link’s shadow but animated and running around like he’s some Hylian child and not a literal monster?” Jaggle huffed.

“He’s not a thing, he’s our friend.” Linkle huffed, folding her arms.

“And yeah, pretty much.” Aura agreed.

“The lizard wants to sacrifice our friend to turn your friend evil.” Groose summed up, “So he’s trying to stop that from happening.” 

“Wait, that’s why the lizard-” Aura started.

“Lizzy.” Groose corrected.

“Ugh, Lizzy. You boys are so dumb… That’s why Lizzy wants to kill Mr. Link? To turn the Hero of Twilight evil?”

“Um, no. To turn all of the Heroes evil. Duh.” Linkle said with an eye roll, “Why would he use the Hero of Men’s shadow to turn the just Hero of Twilight evil? Common sense, little sis.”

“We aren’t sisters!” Aura said with a huff, “And honestly, you could update people on the lastest info about the stupid lizard problem.”

“Oh, well, Mr. Link named it Lizzy.” Groose provided, “Sorry, we forgot to tell you.”

“...That’s not what I-” Aura sputtered. Rusl cut her off before the trio could rabbit trail any further. 

“But he’s harmless towards us, yes?” Rusl asked, “Mr. Link, I mean?” They all looked at him for a moment before nodding.

“Oh, yeah. Mr. Link is a little scary when he does the magic thing, but he’s actually a pretty cool guy. He won’t hurt anyone here. He just doesn’t like telling people he’s a shadow because, well… where I’m from, and I know this is true in a lot of places, shadows or darker reflections of people are typically killed on the spot. He’s trying to avoid having to fight any Hylians that might want to kill him for being himself.” Linkle explained quickly. 

“Okay, so if he’s Link’s shadow, then why does he look like a fifteen year old kid?” Fado questioned.

“What exactly do you guys know about the Heroes of Hyrule?” Linkle asked. They all went to answer, but all seemed to realize at the same time that they knew pretty much nothing except that their Link was one.

“I’ll be honest. Shad would be the one who would know anything about that.” Auru admitted, reminding Linkle of the two resistance members that weren’t there: Shad the Scholar and Telma the Bartender. Right. Linkle forgot that in the old days the stories of the Heroes used to be watered down as myths while the Royal Family kept the secret of the cycle hidden from the general populace for the Hero’s safety. A practice that had been abandoned by Linkle’s era when people realized that by keeping the Hero in the dark, they could potentially leave the fate of Hyrule into the hands of a completely untrained child.

“Well… Lets just not explain this for the thousandth time, Linkle.” Aura complained, “It’s getting old. Look, Mr. Link is your friend’s shadow, he just appears a little different for reasons, okay?” They all objected to Aura’s blunt explanation, clamouring for more information, but Aura suddenly tensed. She put her hand up to silence them as if alarmed and then stood and drew her blade.

“Um, Aura?” 

“Something’s here.” She hissed. They all looked alarmed, drawing their blades and looking around, listening. No one could tell what had Aura so on edge. Then, they all gasped, getting into a circle with backs to each other as the flames of the torched in the room turned purple.

“Mr. Link?” Groose asked in an unsteady tone, “If that’s you, then cut it out. This isn’t the time for jokes.”

“I’m not the shadow.” They all tensed. Familiarity flashed across Groose’s face and they knew he recognized the voice.

“Lizzy.” He snarled under his breath. Never before had Linkle believed the word Lizzy could sound so terrifying. They heard heavy footsteps, and tensed as a figure seemed to peel from the darkness around them.

“Amusing.” The voice said, “But that’s not my name.” They all waited for the lizard to appear, but instead, out of the shadows came Mr. Link himself, his red eyes glinting dangerously. His normally purple hair now stark white. His pale and ashen skin dark and grey, like a foggy night. His fangs sharper. His claws like razors. His smile was sadistic and expression one of hunger. 

“Tell me, sky child.” The evil shadow asked, “Where is my dear shadow? I’m afraid he’s wandered off. I want him back.” Linkle stared at it, eyes wide.

“A dark.” She whispered, “A true dark.” His eyes flickered towards her, and they narrowed. 

“I know your brother, little archer.” He purred, “He tried to kill me just a few days ago. The fool. Or… was it centuries ago? Mmm… Time is such a fickle thing.” 

“What do you want?” Rusl’s demanded, “Are you here to finish us off?” 

“A tempting idea, actually.” The dark replied with a grin, “It would be so easy with you trapped here in the darkness of the forest temple. But…” The dark’s eyes hadn’t left Linkle, as they trailed down to the compass around her neck, knitting for the briefest of seconds with worry. Linkle almost didn’t notice the small look of fear in his eyes, but she realized her compass bothered him.

“That would be boring.” He said, making up an excuse for his hesitation, “And besides, I know the shadow is close, and either you will tell me where he is hidden, or you will deliver a message for me.” The dark clenched his fists, and when he unclenched it, a bundle of purple fabric was in his hand. He let it go, dropping it to the ground so it unfolded to reveal what it was… Ravio’s bunny hood. Crumbled and ruined. 

“The shadow for the Hero of Lorule. He has until the hour before sundown to surrender, or I will kill him and then I will kill you.” The dark warned, “However, you will all walk free if he turns himself over to me.”

“Why the heck should we trust you?!” Aura snarled.

“Darks are never honest.” Linkle agreed, “You aren’t going to let Ravio go, you’re going to take both of them and hurt our brothers.” The dark tilted his head, as if considering their words and attempting to puzzle out how he would counter them. He circled the group, eyes flashing with greed and malice. 

“Why even take the risk. The coward cannot fight. The shadow can. You could all survive this, but if you refuse my offer, you will die no matter what you do. You’re cut off inside this temple. I have half the mind to leave you all trapped in here to starve while I send monsters to Kakarikio to take the children and their mothers and to take the Windfish’s chosen and let them eat their fill. I try to be reasonable, child of Calamity and child of War, but if you are not reasonable in return, I will be certain to show none of you mercy!” His voice raised, becoming more horrible and raspy as rage glinted in his eyes. The villagers muttered in fear, clearly worried about their families, which the dark had just threatened to feed to monsters. Linkle did not think that boded well. She knew they would never surrender their friend to the dark… but the company they kept? Something told her that a few of the villagers they were with would gladly force Mr. Link to make the trade if they truly thought it would save their loved ones. 

“So… bring him to me, whether out of his free will or not. And I will spare the bunny. I will spare you. I will spare your families.” The dark said, calming himself down so he merely whispered, “If he does not cooperate…” The dark’s eyes flickered toward the villagers, more specifically on Jaggle, who had reacted the worst to finding out Mr. Link was a shadow, “Throw him into the sunlight. It will solidify his form completely and strip him of his magic as well as place him in an immense amount of pain. Pain that will keep him from fighting back. Though, I warn you, if he doesn’t come out of his free will, my would be heroes, your friend will die as well as you while these people are spared.” He let this threat hang in the air for a good few moments before turning to let the darkness take him. He paused.

“Just so you are aware. He has four hours to save his friend.” And with that, the dark was gone. They all stayed very still, staring at where he had been for several moments. Then, Jaggle reacted first.

“Do we have any rope?” He asked.

“Jaggle, no!” Mayor Bo gasped. 

“Do you want that thing to hurt your daughter Bo?” Hanch asked in worry, “Because these kids admitted it. They can’t kill that thing! He’s going to destroy everything and kill us all if we don’t give him what he wants.”

“He’s just a kid.” Rusl defended.

“He’s monster dressed as a child.” Jaggle justified, “Why should we protect him when my sons’ lives are in danger?”

“Or my daughter’s!” Hanch agreed. 

“Because I know my son and your sons and your daughter would never forgive us if we dragged that kid to his own execution.” Rusl growled.

“Well they wouldn’t forgive use either if we let them get roasted and turned into monster food.” Jaggle pointed out. 

“He was helping you and he’s going to get help even as we speak, and you want to give him over to that creature?!” Auru cried.

“He was on the sidelines for most of the battle and we lost, Auru!” Hanch pointed out, “If that’s helping then he needs to learn to get better at it.” 

“They just told us he couldn’t help any more at the time!” Ashei said, “He can’t go out in the sun. He was brave to try at all!” 

“Well, he didn’t try hard enough!” Jaggle growled, his voice echoed off the walls of the temple while he shook his fists in anger. Rusl scowled at the man.

“And what would our Link say if we gave him up? You heard what these kids said he’s going to do with the shadow. He’s going to sacrifice the boy for his magic and turn Link against us. And once Link is gone, then who will protect Hyrule? You?” Rusl jabbed his finger in accusation at the man, “I understand protecting your family, but you will fail at protecting them if you let him take that boy.” 

“Enough.” Mayor Bo inserted, cutting off the debate, “No one is going to be sacrificing anyone to a creepy dark magic monster. Anyone who tries will be detained until we can take back Ordon.” 

“Or until that thing kills us.” Jaggle muttered. 

“He won’t.” Linkle cut off, “Mr. Link will come through. We just need more time.” 

“We don’t have more time, Linkle.” Aura said quickly, “Link needs to be back with help now. We can’t wait a few hours for him to show up with your friend from the Twilight world. He’s going to kill Ravio in four hours and we have no clue how long it’ll take for Mr. Link to get back.” 

“Then we have to make more time.” Linkle said before glancing down at the compass around her neck, “And I think I know how.”


	26. Reinforcement.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last fight to save Ordon and Ravio.

Aura swore to Hylia that if Linkle was wrong about her stupid compass, she was going to launch it on one of Groose’s catapults into Lake Hylia before the lizard… dark… thing killed them. She wasn’t sure how she was gonna make time for it in between the getting killed part and the plan going wrong part, but Aura sure as heck was going to make time for it.

Apparently, Linkle had noticed the Dark had seemed wary of her compass. In the past, Linkle had been able to use it to scare off people who used dark magic, though she never really knew how. Now that, thanks to Ravio, she knew the compass was embedded with light magic. And if their theory was correct, the Lizard wasn’t exactly fond of light magic and was likely created from dark magic. Unfortunately, Marin had been the only one who could control light magic, and they weren’t sure if Linkle’s theory would be correct or that the compass would do what they wanted.

The plan was stupid, in all honesty. Hanch was still hurt and they made him and Jaggle stay in the temple since no one really trusted the two desperate fathers to not do something stupid in attempts to protect their kids. No one really blamed them for wanting to keep their children safe, but Aura was very much annoyed with the two for automatically trying to send Mr. Link to his death over it. 

Essentially, the remaining of them had figured out a route around the back of the temple, with the aid of some monkeys who seemed to notice their plight. They got out together and took to the Faron woods and were desperately trying to navigate them to Ordon without getting lost or losing precious time. They planned to attack from the front, with Linkle at the charge and hopefully getting her compas to work and scare off the lizard. Aura, the most stealthy of the bunch, was in charge of finding where they were keeping Ravio, and getting him out of there. 

Aura knew if Linkle’s gamble on the compass didn’t pay off, they’d all be made into monster chow long before Mr. Link could find them. She also knew if the dark noticed the distraction or realized they were trying to get Ravio out, that the plan would backfire horrible and Ravio and Aura would likely be the first to die.   
Sadly, they had no time to come up with a better plan, so they had to make do with what they had and pray that the compass would work or that Mr. Link would show up with help before they were all slaughtered.

“What time is it?” Ashei called back to Groose, who had a pocket watch and was constantly looking at it.

“We have an hour to get Ravio back before Lizzy kills him.” Groose noted. 

“Well, we’re here.” Rusl’s said, pulling a few bushes to the side to show the Ordon village below before frowning, “And I think I found your friend.” Linkle shoved Rusl's over to the side, peering down. Aura got a glimpse over their shoulders. The monsters had ransacked anything the kids and wives hadn’t packed up with them to take to Kakariko. Many little camps for monsters were scattered throughout the little village. About five camps in the main area and signs of a few near the Hero’s house and the ranch. In the very center of town, surrounded by three of these tiny camps was Ravio.

They still couldn’t make out what he really looked like, because his scarf had been pulled up over his eyes, covering most of his face and blinding the man. However, Aura could now see that Ravio had the same hair color Mr. Link had when in his true form. He was bound tightly to a post they’d set up in the middle of town, and monsters from the camps kept wandering over and jabbering things Aura could not hear to their captive. Ravio was obviously terrified and awake. His posture stiff and he kept flinching or pulling at his bonds in fear every time a monster approached. 

“Why would they put him in such an open place?” Auru said in confusion.

“He’s bait.” Aura said with an eye roll, “Why wouldn’t they? Put him right where we can see him, but not where we can reach him easily. He’s completely surrounded, and if we make the wrong move, any one of those monsters could kill him in retaliation.”

“Also, he’s in broad daylight.” Groose agreed, “So Mr. Link can’t reach him at all. Not until the sun starts to sink more, that is.”

“Yeah, if Lizzy’s trying to keep a shadow from saving him, right in the sunlight is a perfect place to keep Ravio.” Linkle agreed. 

“We need to really be careful when we make our move.” Ashei muttered, “Aura, go around behind them.”

“Wait… where’s Lizzy though?” Bo questioned. They all realized he was right. The lizard or dark, or whatever he was wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Just a bunch of infected monsters that kept eyeing Ravio hungrily and seemed to get more and more excited as sunset drew closer.

“Isn’t it a good thing he’s not there?” Fado asked in confusion, “Now we don’t have to fight him.”

“No… we need to have eyes on him before we make our move.” Linkle muttered, “He’s the most dangerous one, and losing track of him could mean life or death.” 

“I couldn’t agree more.” Mr. Link agreed. Wait… Mr. Link? Aura and the rest spun around frantically with eyes wide as they noticed the dark now standing behind them with a wild smirk.

“So, where’s my shadow? You’re here, so I can only assume you have an answer to my proposal.” 

“...We still don’t know where he is…” Groose said helplessly, “He vanished after our battle.” 

“So instead of spending the hour your friend has left looking for the cowardly traitor, you come here and try to defy me?” Lizzy asked, raising an eyebrow, “Not a wise choice…” He began to morph, from the image of their friend to a towering, dangerous looking dark lizard that grinned like it was ready to feast in it’s prey, “Not wise at all.” Weapons were drawn immediately. One look from Linkle, and Aura knew what she was supposed to do. Go. Get Ravio, and get him to safety. Aura rolled out of the way as the lizard snarled and lunged for her first. She stumbled, barely catching herself and getting balanced before she was forced to evade a swipe from it’s sword.   
Linkle reacted by sending a couple arrows into it’s back while Groose and Rusl flanked it on the sides, doing their best to draw his attention from Aura. It worked, and Aura scrambled away from the battle, not wanting to know what would happen next at all. She made her way down into the village, moving quickly from building to building to the center of Ordon. The monsters didn’t notice her until she was halfway to him. By then, however, her weapon was drawn and a good number of the monsters had gone to help Lizzy fight off her friends, who were faring better than she’d anticipated. She slashed mercilessly through any that came her way, trading stealth for swift but brute strength as she tried to keep her life. Her eyes never leaving Ravio, who was now still, his long ears twitching to the sounds of the battle that had erupted around him and his form trembling ever so slightly.

She could see, now that he was closer, that faint tear stains traced his cheeks. The man had been crying, likely because he was led to believe he was about to die and very much believed that to be the truth. 

But Aura wasn’t going to let another die today. She would reach him, no matter what. 

She tore through the Bulblins scrambling to keep her from their prize getting right to where Ravio was bound before something slammed into her side. She gasped, crumbling and nearly losing her grip on her weapon. She twisted and went to get up, only to be greeted with the blade of the dark lizard pointing directly down at her.

‘losing track of him could mean life or death.’ Linkle had said only moments before. That still rang true. 

“Drop your sword, Child of Calamity, and I will make your end swift and painless.” Lizzy threatened. She snarled back up at him, stubbornly refusing the demand as she brought her blade up and pushed his to the side. She scrambled to her feet, just in time to block a strike to the left. She engaged in combat with the lizard. After some of the things she’d seen, one freaky and smug lizard shape shifter didn’t scare her. 

He was fast. Really fast. 

She knew that Mr. Link was quick, being a creature of magic, but this monster seemed even faster than he was. True to Mr. Link’s words, no matter what blow she landed on the monster, he retained no injuries. She herself was forced on the defense trying with all her might not to be sliced into two by it’s cruel blade. The lizard was just toying with her, she quickly realized. The arrogant fiend. It seemed to be entertained by Aura’s efforts to overcome his skills. Unfortunately, as she noticed her friends take down more monsters while Aura distracted the lizard, she could tell he was quickly losing interest and preparing to finish her off. His boredom with her reached its peak when he got in close, not even caring that she impaled him with her blade in this action. A mighty claw grasped around her neck and she found herself struggling to jerk her blade free.

“That was fun.” Lizzy decided, “But as I told the shadow. It takes a little more than just a sword to kill me, child.” He began to tighten his grip and Aura’s handle on her blade loosened as spots danced in her eyes.

“Aura!” She heard someone in the distance, probably Linkle, cry out in alarm. She forgot her blade, leaving it in the monster as she reached up, trying to peel the claws off of her. Trying to keep her glare consistent, but her vision was quickly tunneling as her lungs screamed for air. As she was about to go limp and pass out from lack of air, the lizard’s grip suddenly loosened as it looked up and away from her in surprise. Aura’s vision cleared, and she saw what had him so startled. 

The sun had gone dark. 

The sky was now a soft orange color and shadows seemed to lick the entire landscape while odd, black specks fluttered through the air. Embers. Embers made from shadow. The lizard snarled, throwing Aura to the side and pulling her sword out of him. Aura barely managed to catch herself, rolling herself back to her knees and preparing to get back on her feet despite being weaponless now. But she froze upon seeing what the dark lizard was doing now. It had a hold of Ravio’s hair. The young man had let out a yelp of pain before going silent as the lizard posed its claws under his chin.

“Let him go.” In front of the lizard, Ravio, and Aura appeared Mr. Link out of dozens of black embers of twilight. He looked absolutely livid. His wild eyes regarded the lizard the way a feral monster regarded a threat that they intended to extinguish. There was no mercy in his eyes. The lizard returned to furious glare. 

“Shadow.” The lizard hissed. Mr. Link smirked, making the glint in his eyes twice as cruel.

“Lizzy.” He said simply, “Let the bunny go, and we won’t hurt you.” The lizard snorted, and Mr. Link just rolled his eyes.

“Fine, be that way.” He huffed. The lizard went to retort, but then he wasn’t holding Ravio anymore. Why? Because a wash of shadow magic had just slammed into the guy… and it wasn’t Mr. Link’s. Materializing behind where Lizzy had been was a very strange woman. Beautiful, yes, but strange. Aura had never seen a creature quite like her. The Lizard recovered, staggering to balance himself as he regarded the woman hatefully.

“Queen Midna.” He snarled, “You weren’t supposed to be able to leave the Twilight Realm. The woman smirked, flicking her wrists so as to summon daggers that were covered in intricate, glowing designs.

“Sorry to disappoint, reptile, but when you kidnap my partner in crime and send him on a wild journey through time with full intentions to corrupt and use him? Well, that tends to make a lady want to break some rules and kill some things.” She replied in a snarky tone.

Oh, Aura liked this lady already. She stepped closer towards him, showing no signs of fear. The battle had slowed on both sides, monsters freaking out about the woman’s arrival and their allies just gawking at the lady in awe. 

“You might be able to overcome one child of shadow in the light of day, but can you defeat two in the hour of twilight and a young lady carrying a relic of light?” Midna challenged. Linkle, from where she’d been fighting, was beaming, compass in hand and raised as if to use it against the dark. The dark’s eyes flickered around, his hateful expression growing even more dangerous as he realized the trap he’d just sprung on himself. 

“Kill them all.” He growled to the monsters, before lunging at Mr. Link and ignoring the Twilight Queen entirely. She didn’t like being ignored very much. Her blades flew at the monster, embedding themselves into him. He actually seemed to register these ones, screeching in alarm, but not so wounded that he couldn’t continue his charge. Mr. Link intercepted him, eyes glowing with power as he raised his hands and the shadows rose to obey him. The lizard slammed into tendrils of darkness which Mr. Link began to weave around its body. The lizard thrashed, clearly not happy with the situation at all. Their allies seemed encouraged by the new arrivals as they jumped into their battle once more. Midna’s daggers sliced into any monster the villagers and resistance members and Groose failed to fell. Linkle drew close to the lizard who seemed to really be panicking now as Midna help Mr. Link secured him and the compass flashed dangerously. 

He then twisted his neck to glare at Mr. Link.

“No! You belong to me, Shadow! You will not fight against me!” Aura didn’t see how this helped the lizard until Mr. Link inhaled sharply, his magic vanishing completely. He looked paler than normal and he fumbled frantically for his sword. Midna noticed, trying to keep the monster restrained on her own, but it broke free, vanishing entirely. Mr. Link dropped to his knees, panting like he’d just run a marathon. The sounds of the last monsters being slain quickly gave way to a stunned silence.

“Mr. Link!” Groose grunted, rushing to the boy’s side now that the battle was over. Mr. Link crumbled right into Groose. Aura didn’t think too much about that, now scrambling to Ravio’s side and unbinding him quickly.

“Hey, it’s okay… It’s okay… She muttered as the man, though still blindfolded, immediately grasped her upon her freeing his hands and arms and held tight like she was his lifeline.

“It’s okay, Ravio.” Aura promised, “It’s just me. You’re safe now. You’re safe.”


	27. It's Hard to Be Brave.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midna offers the team some advice.

Ravio reclaimed his ruined hood immediately, not even caring that it was crumbled and dirty as he pulled it over his head before daring to let them remove his blindfold. Linkle ended up with him, comforting him while he clung to Aura like a bear, as if he thought letting go of ethier Linkle or Aura would make them disappear. But as much as Ravio’s rescue relieved them all and as important as calming him down was, Groose’s attention was pulled to a different problem entirely.

He was holding Mr. Link in his arms. The second the lizard had vanished, the boy had crumbled to his knees before promptly fainting from exhaustion. His skin was paler than normal, almost the color of paper. His normally dark violet hair was seemingly washing out. He was shivering like he was cold and felt warm, like he had a fever. Groose could feel everyone’s eyes on the shadow child as the Twili Queen held her hands over him, trying to get him to wake up and figure out what the lizard had done to him. 

“His magic is completely drained.” Midna muttered, “He’ll recover, but whatever that thing somehow stimulated the effects the sun has on a shadow or Twili without using any light magic or sunlight. It drained his magic, pulled the color from him and his skin likely feels like it’s on fire right now…” She tested that last theory carefully, carefully massaging an arm in hers. Mr. Link whimpered in his sleep, confirming that she was right, “He has a physical form… which is rather odd. Twili’s are made from magic, and so is he. Normally too long exposed to sun would kill a Twili and cause it to fade… but it won’t kill him. Not entirely. No… sun will just place him through terrible pain. Clearly, this creature that brought him back wished for the sun to weaken him, but not destroy the magic essence embedded in him. Which, if what he told me about that dark’s intentions are true, makes sense.” 

“B-but I-I don’t understand.” Everyone’s attention was brought to Ravio, who hadn’t said a word since his rescue, his voice quivered, “Y-you M-midna… Y-you took t-the sun o-out of the equation by turning t-the area Twilight… a-and why aren’t t-they spirit’s r-right now? Why am I-I not a b-bunny?” 

“Um, what?” Fado asked, looking seriously confused. Minda chuckled at little despite the worry in the air.

“Link and I took some time to come help you because I needed help from the light Spirit Ordon who protects this area. He allowed me to let enough of the Twilight Realm leak into this area to darken the sun and allow Link to use his magic freely. But not so much that you’d be reverted to animal form and the rest be turned into spirits. Link should not have been brought down by such simple words.” Midna explained, “But I fear I know why the dark one spoke them.” 

“L-Link i-is infected.” Ravio muttered under his breath. Mutters danced through the area. At this point, they all knew what being infected meant. 

“He said his powers were finicky in his own realm.” Midna responded, “And he bleeds black. The dark one must’ve installed a fail-safe that keeps him from using magic against him. For monsters, being infected means more strength. For Link, however, it means he is held back. He was smart to go for the sword when he did. That should, in theory, counter the dark one’s control over his magic… but I suppose the sword would need to be in his hands for it to work properly.”

“Can you help him at all?” Groose asked in worry. 

“I already did. He should be fine by midnight.” Minda replied. Everyone was very much relieved by this news. Midna then turned from Groose and Link towards Linkle, Ravio, and Aura. She smiled.

“Well, if it isn’t my old friends Linkle the Wanderer and Ravio the Merchant. Still dealing with weird time shenanigans and whatnot?” Minda asked in a very casual tone, as if she hadn’t just shown up, plunged the village into twilight, and then proceeded to help scare off a dark entity that could control time. Linkle’s face brightened a little and Ravio seemed to relax upon Midna addressing him. His hold on Aura loosened and he seemed a lot less like a startled bunny as he seemed to try and recompose himself, despite being very rattled still. 

“Miss. Twili.” Ravio addressed, the quivering in his voice seemed to even out and his breathing seemed to steady. Midna smiled, winking at him.

“You did good, bunny. Mr. Link told me you saved those Ordon kids. Good. My Link would throw a fit if you got one of those light world brats killed.”

“Um, those are our children.” Rusl muttered under his breath. Midna just ignored him, continuing on.

“Anyways, I can’t come with you to get my Link out of the mess he’s gotten himself into… again, but I will offer some advice. Dark Magic will falter to Shadow Magic, but if you really want to kill that thing off, you need a serious amount of light magic. Normally, I’d recommend the Master Sword, but only one person in Hyrule can use that.” 

“And none of us are him.” Aura muttered. Midna’s eyes never left Ravio.

“No. But you have someone who’s close enough.” Minda said with a wicked grin, “Give me that compass, Linkle.” Linkle hesitated, before pulling from Ravio and offering the relic to her. Midna let it free float in her hands, not daring to touch it directly, “This would’ve seriously wounded the dark lizard, had he not escaped, but it’s not powerful enough to kill it. You need a new destination on this quest if you want to kill that thing. I’m going to tell the magic in this compass to lead your group there. After you regroup with your friend in Kakariko, I would recommend preparing for a hard and difficult journey to retrieve a weapon with equal power to the Master Sword.” 

“That’s impossible.” Groose said, “The Master Sword is the strongest and most powerful weapon created.” 

“In Hyrule.” The Twili agreed, “But not in every realm, is that not correct, Ravio?” Ravio gulped, the small confidence he’d gotten from being around his friends seemed to melt as he shrunk under her gaze. Her amused expression went serious.

“So, you know what you need to find to kill this thing, right?” Midna questioned.

“I… I rather not...” Ravio gulped, “I’m not a warrior. I can’t…”

“Ravio, you’re the only person in this party with the spirit to kill it.” Midna scolded, “So stop hiding under that hood and do your job, or so help me, I will stick the Hero of War on you and blame you for that water octo balloon prank I pulled on him during the war.” 

“Wait… that was you!?” Linkle squeaked. Midna ignored Linkle.

“Well, Bunny?” She asked. Ravio swallowed, glancing over at the unconscious and shivering shadow that was still curled up in Groose’s arms. He tugged on the cuffs of his sleeves, trembling.

“...Yes… I will find the weapon you speak of.” He muttered. Midna looked satisfied. 

“Good.” She decided, “Other thing before I go.” She gave Linkle her compass back before snapping her fingers and turning towards Groose. In her hands was a letter of some sort, sealed with teal wax and a Twili insignia.

“Tell Mr. Link when he wakes up to deliver this letter to my Link personally. If any of you but him breaks that seal and reads it, I swear that the lizard will be the least of your problems.” Groose accepted the letter. He hadn’t really been planning on opening it until the threat, but now she had him seriously curious on what the heck she’d written to the Hero of Twilight. 

“Oh, did you write the Hero of Twilight a love letter?” Linkle asked, wriggling her eyebrows in a teasing manner. The Twili flushed bright red.

“I will kill you, Linkle.” Midna warned, “I’m not joking.” 

“Sure you will. Midna and Twilight sitting in a tree! K-I-S-” Linkle began. Midna’s face reddened further.

“And I have to go. The council in the Twilight Realm will not be pleased I came here. See you later.” She said, pulling the mirror Mr. Link had used earlier out of thin air and vanishing into Twili embers. The second she left, the sky started shifting to normal and the monsters and damages to the town seemed to shimmer out of existence. Groose had to reposition himself so that Mr. Link was in Groose’s shadow.

“...Wait… Link is dating that lady?” One of the villagers, more specifically Fado, stammered in confusion. 

“Wait, really?” Aura said in surprise, “Huh… the Hero has a thing for redheads. Who knew?” 

“But mine is dating Zelda.” Groose objected weakly, “And she’s not a redhead.”

“No. But Marin’s a redhead and Midna’s a redhead. Two to one, Groose. He’s got a type.”

“Well, was your brother seeing anyone who was a redhead?”

“Mipha, I think. She didn’t have red hair… but she was a red Zora.” Aura admitted, “Yours?”

“Single.” Linkle said, “And trust me, if I were him, I’d be contempt to never date. Seriously.” 

“Why’s that?” Aura asked.

“Long story. Pray you never find out.” 

“You guys are getting seriously off topic.” Ravio grunted, getting unsteadily to his feet, “Let's go get Marin and get this item Midna was talking about fast. I want this quest over with as fast as possible.” They all stared at Ravio, who seemed to be the king of getting off topic. He seemed way more serious than normal… but then again, the guy had just been the Dark’s prisoner not even thirty minutes ago. Even so, they all expected him to want to take it a little easy before they moved on with their quest. Whatever Midna wanted Ravio to retrieve must’ve had him really bothered. 

“We’ll finish making the clothes and restocking while we wait for them to come home from Kakariko. After that, we’ll move on.” Aura decided. Ravio seemed to agree, giving a curt, but silent nod. 

“I’ll get Sheerow and send the message.” He grumbled.


	28. Little Sister.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Linkle finishes her sewing projects and Shadow repairs weapons. Groose forces Aura to help him train Ravio while they wait for Marin’s return to Ordon.

“This is insanity.” Aura muttered under her breath as Ravio yelped and dropped his practice sword for what seemed like the ten thousandth time, “No wonder Mr. Link gave up.” Groose shot her an aggravated glare before going and carefully readjusting Ravio’s posture and hold.

“You’ve gotta keep balanced.” Groose insisted for what felt like the fiftieth time that evening, “Stop sacrificing your foot work and keep a good grip. You’ve almost got it. Just adjust right here.... Ravio, stop shaking.” 

“Sorry…” Ravio stammered, “Are we sure this is safe? I mean my hammer is more than-”

“Just hold the wooden sword, Mr. Ravio and stop complaining!” Aura fumed. Ravio yelped, losing his grip immediately and dropping the sword again. Aura facepalmed and Groose bit down a frustrated scream. Was it him? Was he just not a good sword instructor? He’d watched the instructors at the academy teach sword play, and he thought he could do it himself, but Ravio just didn’t seem to get it at all. 

“Pick it up.” Groose grunted, “And reposition yourself.” Ravio fumbled for the weapon, putting it into his hands in the worst grip Groose had ever seen and sliding into an even worse stance. Aura proceeded to drag her hand down her face.

“Uh… here.” Groose grumbled. He was seconds away from joining Aura in her frustrated gestures. He corrected the man’s grip as stance yet again. 

“What are you kids doing?” Ravio yelped, and Groose’s hard work on fixing the boy’s grip and footing was lost yet again. Groose spun around offering a dirty glare at the interrupting person. Rusl stood to the side, his eyebrow raised and his arms folded. 

“Training.” Ravio said glumly, “I’m trying to learn how to fight.” 

“Pick the sword up again.” Groose huffed. Ravio did so. Rusl seemed to notice Aura and Groose’s annoyed expressions and actually snickered a little before striding over to Ravio and Groose.

“You’re really tense. That’s part of your problem. You can freeze up and forget what you're doing every time something startles you. No matter what, you have to keep that sword in your hands.” Rusl offered “Just know, if you keep dropping your sword and you do that in an actual battle, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be eaten alive by a monster or killed by that lizard.” Ravio gulped, his grip on the blade suddenly a lot tighter and adjusted perfectly. Groose blinked. Why did he think to say something like that to Ravio? Groose knew he was trying to be less of a bully when it came to this stuff, but Hylia, this bunny seriously needed to be scared straight because even after being captured, it was still hard to convince him to fight properly.

Groose and Aura watched in stunned silence as Rusl very carefully stepped Ravio through some of the basics that Groose had been spending literally all morning trying to hammer into Ravio. It seemed the bunny had been paying attention to Groose, but his freaking out every five seconds kept Groose from making any progress. Apparently, Ravio could learn to use a sword… so long as he was properly motivated to attempt to do so correctly. 

He still had a very, very long way to go before he could even hope to be a master though… but if they could drill in those basics and train him out of that habit of dropping the sword, he’d fare a lot better than he had been. And once Linkle finished making him better clothes, maybe they could try to teach him more advanced stuff, assuming they’d be together long enough to get that far. Groose doubted they would be though.

Hylia, he prayed Marin would be easier to train. Linkle assured him she would get better, because apparently in the future she was an awesome fighter. Ravio sorta just swung his hammer and hoped he hit. According to Linkle, Marin didn’t fight that way when she was older. Rusl helped Groose and Aura with Ravio’s ‘training’ for quite a while before the sound of Linkle’s cheery voice cut through the air.

“Don’t stop, Mr. Ravio.” Rusl advised, “Keep practicing that strike. Try and commit it to memory.” Ravio tried his best not to get distracted as Linkle ran towards the group, a bundle in hands with both Rapheo and Sheerow on her tail. 

“Sheerow’s back.” Aura noted, “News on the others?”

“They’re an hour out.” Aura said cheerfully, “And the villagers and resistance members just finished putting everyone’s property back into the correct houses after, you know, the monsters pillaged their homes. Also, Mr. Link is awake now. He’s started on those repairs you needed on your swords, Aura and Groose. He’s pretty good at that smithing stuff for someone who’s new at it. Auru and Ashei have him making repairs on their blades too. They paid him twenty each for it, so we have forty for the restock fund.” 

“Good. We’ll put that with Ravio’s stuff whenever he’s done here.” Aura decided. 

“How is my rabbit friend doing anyways? Having fun yet, Ravs?” Linkle questioned. Ravio fumbled a little, grunting back at her. Rusl patiently helped him recover.

“He’s getting there.” Groose said.

“But it did take him all morning just to figure out how to hold the thing.” Aura complained. Linkle giggled at that.

“Yeah. I was a slow learner too. There’s a reason I like archery and crossbows more. I mean, I know how to use a sword, but trust me, anyone would tell you that it’s better to have me on crossbows and doing hand to hand than using a sword. I’m just better at that. I’m not my brother, after all.” Linkle admitted. 

“Well… to be fair, I suck at archery.” Aura admitted. Linkle’s eyes widened, as if this were news to her.

“Wait… seriously? But Wild is like the best archer I’ve ever met! He’s even better than me, on both crossbows and normal longbows.” Linkle gasped. 

“...I have a terrible eye.” Aura muttered under her breath, as if she were talking more to herself than her companions. She then huffed, glaring at Linkle, “But I am still a great sword fighter, so if you dare tell my brother-”

“I won’t!” Linkle laughed, “It’s just funny that one of us is better at archery while her brother sucks at it and the other is terrible at archery while her brother is awesome at it. A little ironic, huh? You’d think it would be the opposite.” Aura scowled, her expression going dark. She turned from the group.

“Yeah, well… I didn’t really know him very well before… you know…” Aura said, “He promised me before he left one day he’d teach me to shoot, but he never had time.” Groose frowned, very confused.

“Wait, you don’t know your brother very well? But you grew up together!” Groose insisted. Aura shook her head.

“...No, we didn’t. Our mom died after I was born, and my dad decided he was going to train Link to be a knight like him. Started training him the moment he was big enough to hold a blade without stumbling… when he was three.” Aura explained, “When he was four, dad noticed he was freakishly good at it and had him sent to Zora’s domain to where he met Mipha. There, some knights tested and trained Link. When Link was six, they sent him to pull the Master Sword… and after he did it, I barely saw him.” She then frowned, squinting, “Why when did your brother start?”

“We started training together when we were ten… he didn’t even get declared the Hero until he was eighteen and in basic training to become a soldier.” Linkle said in confusion.

“You… You trained together?” Aura sputtered before scowling darkly. She crossed her arms and turned away from Linkle, suddenly seeming a lot more hostile towards the young archer. Linkle seemed to notice the shift in mood, and squinted in confusion.

“Well… yeah. We’re twins. We used to do everything together. We both wanted to become knights and we both were named after the legendary Hero because our grandma thought one of us would grow up to become the next Hero. And we both really wanted that.” Linkle smiled fondly, “We were very competitive siblings, as you can probably imagine. Always trying to best each other and pulling pranks and stuff like that… I miss that…” The description of how close Linkle was to the Hero of War only seemed to make Aura’s mood sour more. 

Ravio’s small yelp and the clattering of his wooden sword was what kept the air from becoming an awkward silence. He sheepishly scrambled to get it, but Linkle stopped him.

“No. I think you should take a break, Ravio. I finally got this done and I want to make sure our measurements were right. You’ve gotta try it on.” Linke shoved the bundle she’d been holding into the boy’s arms. He stared down at and let a beat of silence pass.

“Linkle, I love it.” He breathed. Linkle giggled.

“You have to try it on first, silly!” She teased, come on!” She grabbed the merchant by the arm and dragged him off to make him try the new tunic on. They watched the two scamper off, laughing like old friends.

“Fifty rupees say we aren’t going to see those two until dinner.” Aura bet. Groose shook his head.

“No, they’ll want to see Marin when she gets back. We’ll see them in an hour.” Groose challenged. Rusl snorted.

“A hundred says we don’t see Ravio until tomorrow. Something tells me he’s gonna try and avoid coming back for more training.” Rusl pointed out. They looked at the man, both impressed by his guess.

“I’m gonna make sure he shows up for dinner.” Aura declared, “No way am I giving this guy a hundred rupees.” 

“No interference, that’s cheating!” Rusl sang before grabbing up the practice sword and walking off with a knowing smirk on his face. Aura huffed, looking more grumpy than she had before. She muttered a bunch of stuff under her breath and began to storm off. Groose stopped her.

“I’m sure your brother is awesome.” Groose declared with a smile. She glared at him.

“What are you-”

“I think it’s really lucky that Link is your blood brother. Link and I got pretty close over the past few years, but we aren’t blood related. I know it’s been a while, but I’m sure you two will really hit it off! He’s gonna love having you as a sister! You’re so cool!” Groose declared. Aura looked downright murderous, shoving past him with a huff. She got a distance away before Groose cupped his hands over his mouth and called out, “Just so you know, Groose is totally routing for you!” 

“Shut up, Groose!” Aura yelled right back.


	29. A Glimpse.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say goodbye to their friends in Ordon and Marin contemplates what she saw when Ravio was captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... sorry for not posting Saturday, work was pretty crazy that day. To make up for that, I have embedded a picture I drew awhile back in colored pencil and sharpie when I was trying to design the outfits for Shadow, Aura, Ravio, and Marin at the end of this chapter. Hope you like it!

“Now promise me Miss. Marin that when you see this dream boy you’ll give him a big kiss!” Beth declared loudly. Marin’s face flushed bright red as Telma laughed, patting Marin on the back.

“I regret telling you about him.” Marin chuckled. The past few days had been hard on the Ordon villagers, and especially rough on Marin. After witnessing Ravio get knocked out and captured, the group tried to go back for him, but Telma said it was too dangerous. Unfortunately, Marin knew she was right. After all, the Bulblins would’ve been long gone by the time they managed to clear the rubble and try to reach their friend. The beck they could do was send Sheerow to those still in Ordon and pray they’d be able to help their friend. 

They didn’t learn until sunset, two days later, that the battle had been won and Ravio had been rescued. During that time, Marin could only worry and pray to the goddesses that the bunny merchant would be fine. She felt at fault, and thought that maybe if she’d stopped him from jumping off the wagon and taking on the Bulblin and had Telma try to grab Colin back and they would have all made it. The kids noticed her obvious guilt and the guilt of poor Colin, who blamed himself for not stopping them, and tried to cheer her up. This, of course, leads to exchanging silly stories which somehow lead to her telling them about her Link. Now Beth wouldn’t stop teasing her about it and Telma kept winking at Marin.

The Ordon Villagers were pretty fun, but they sure know how to embarrass a girl.

“Be safe, Marin.” Telma said, patting Marin on the back, “And watch out for that bunny of yours. Wouldn’t want him getting snatched up twice on the same quest, hmm?”

“Oh, gosh, I hope not.” Marin gasped, “I don’t know how much of that I can take!”

“You should really get used to it.” Marin spun away from Beth and Telma to see Mr. Link, basking in the shade of a house. His arms were crossed and he had a knowing look. The letter had stated that Link had gotten hurt in the fight, but he seemed good as new now, and since everyone there knew he was a shadow now, he didn’t bother with a disguise. Malo and Talo thought Mr. Link’s true form was the coolest thing ever, though it earned him cautious looks from the soft spoken, but brave Colin.

“What?” She asked, confusion in her voice. 

“You’re in love with the Hero of Legend, Marin. I’m assuming crazy stuff like that happens to him all the time.” Mr. Link shrugged, “So, unless you're intending to somehow keep Ravio and Legend from danger on a constant basis, which with Legend’s occupation, I highly doubt, you should probably get used to it. Good thing Groose is teaching you to fight. Maybe in the future you can prevent the nabbing of purple clad bunny merchants or really wayward Heroes.” Marin went red again, feeling very small.

“Right…” She muttered. Well, no one had said being in love with a boy she met in her dreams was going to be easy. Mr. Link flashed his sharp teeth in a wiry grin, straightening his posture and taking in her attire.

“Well, I see you were busy working while in Kakariko. Nicely done.” He congratulated her. Marin became very self conscious of her clothes at that moment. While Linkle had kept the fabric they bought in Castle town for Ravio’s clothes, just in case, Marin had insisted on taking her own pattern and fabric and trying to make better traveling and fighting clothes. She invested in a cobbler in Kakariko who made her sturdy boots, dyed with purple blue. She then made herself a new dress that was far shorter and more tunic-like than her old one, but designed to resemble it with shorts, undergarments, and chain mail to be worn underneath. She fashioned arm guards and gauntlets for protecting her hands and then got ribbon and string for tying her long red hair up so that it was less of a hazard.

It was amazing what a person could accomplish while she was internally freaking out about the fate of her love interest’s housemate. She knew Linkle had been hard at work too, determined to help Ravio with his tunic. She could see him from where she stood with Beth and Telma, chattering nervously with Colin, Malo, and Talo, who had decided he was cool because of how he’d bravely saved Colin’s life. 

His normally long tunic was gone, stored away in one of their many magica satchels which Ravio seemed to just pull out of nowhere. It was replaced by a shorter violet tunic that had a very similar design and used the belt of his old one. He now wore trousers and boots with guards in them. His tunic no longer had long sleeves, but shorter ones and his arms now were covered by leather gauntlets and guards. Under his tunic one could occasionally catch a glimpse of chain mail that he was also being forced to wear for his protection. His hammer and sword were strapped firmly to his back and his magic satchel went over his shoulder and across his body so that the actual bag rested at his waist. 

His scarf was firmly secured on his neck, carefully put on so that wasn't so loose that it became a hazard. The new bunny hood Linkle had made looked a lot like the old one that had been ruined in the fight, only a bit smaller with bigger eyes so that he could see better and was at less chance of losing it again. Because it was smaller, it was a lot easier to see the bottom half of his face and some of the dark violet locks of hair that was fairly tangled with how often Ravio must’ve just opted to wear the hood over actually brushing his hair like a civilized person. It was nice, being able to see his smiles and worried frowns now, but his face was still mostly obscured, and after catching a glimpse of him without the hood when he’d been captured, Malon seriously wanted to yank the hood the rest of the way off and see what he actually looked like.

After all, she could’ve sworn that when his hood had fallen off in his capture, she had seen her Link. She had seen the Hero of Legend, but with darker hair. It nagged at her. He wasn’t Link, that was for sure. He acted nothing like the person she knew from the dream, though she was aware that people did change. Ravio, however, just felt different. She first thought that maybe she’d been seeing things. Dreaming again. She couldn’t really trust her eyes when at one point, her eyes had tricked her into thinking she was on an island when she was really asleep and shipwrecked. Then, she began to speculate. What if he really did look like her Link?

She wondered if he was a shadow, like Mr. Link. But that was quickly dismissed. Ravio had a shadow, Mr. Link did not. Ravio could withstand sunlight, even without the hood, Mr. Link could not. Plus, the lizard had been planning to feed Ravio to monsters, which made no sense. If the lizard was looking for a shadow to sacrifice and then had Ravio, he would’ve just used Ravio had he been a shadow. She then wondered if maybe he was one of these dark creatures that everyone was getting worried about. But she shot down that idea, because according to Mr. Link, darks were formed from dark magic. Dark magic was generally evil. Ravio was not evil. He might’ve been the most crooked merchant she’d ever met and he may have been a rather dramatic individual, but he was also one of the nicest people she had ever met. Easily scared, but determined to have courage. A bit greedy, but willing to give when he knows someone needs it. None of these things screamed: evil dark creature. Therefore, Marin was left to once more conclude that she had just been imagining things again. Perhaps she’d seen Link in Ravio’s place because she worried about Link. 

Mr. Link seemed to notice her staring at the bunny merchant.

“He’s been pretty nervous.” Mr. Link said, his lips turning down in a frown, “I was… unconscious when Midna told him where we needed to go next, but wherever this compass is taking us next, it’s pretty clear he would rather go anywhere else. Linkle’s been fussing over him all day! It’s honestly getting annoying. I mean, I know he just got freed from the Bulblins but he’s out of danger now and I plan on protecting him better this time while he learns to protect himself. And once we get this weapon Midna told us about, we should be able to kill the stupid lizard and get our Heroes back. You’d think he’d be more eager to find this thing… whatever it is.” 

“...I don’t think he’s had a good life, Mr. Link.” Marin admitted in a soft voice, “The night before I went to Kakariko… we were talking and… He mentioned how he thinks himself a coward.” Mr. Link arched an eyebrow at her.

“Ravio, a coward… yeah… he said something similar when I asked him to join me on this crazy quest to begin with… but he insisted on coming along anyways. Frankly, I don’t see where he got that idea. He might startle easy and all that, but he’s brave where it counts… Rusl’s kid still being here proves that.” 

“Well, yeah. I know that.” Marin agreed, before her features softened more, “But he talked about how he isn’t supposed to forget it. How he left things behind back in his home country and stuff like that. He was really vague… but I’m actually under the impression… that his obsession with him being a coward came from something else. Something or someone made him think that way. Made him afraid.” Mr. Link’s eyes narrowed. He seemed very thoughtful for a good minute before responding at all. 

“You don’t think that’s where we’re going?” Mr. Link asked in worry, “Back to where he came from?” 

“I pray not.” Marin muttered. Mr. Link looked like he agreed wholly. 

“Well… I think I’ve had enough of these sappy goodbyes to these people we’ve only known for a few days.” Mr. Link said, faking a yawn, “Is the child of dreams ready to aid me in creating another path through time? Or do you need a moment?” 

“...No, no. I’m ready if they are.” Marin decided, unconsciously gripping the strap to her own satchel. Mr. Link clapped his hands.

“Excellent! Miss. Linkle! Mr. Ravio! Mr. Groose! Miss. Aura! We best be on our way! This relic cannot discover itself, you know.” Mr. Link called. Linkle had to drag Ravio away from the children while Groose and Aura came wandering over. Aura had a scowl on her face, and was grumbling about how Rusl was a crook. Marin had no clue what that was about. Rusl seemed like a nice man. They all gave one last goodbye to the Ordon villagers and resistance members before Mr. Link and Marin exchanged knowing looks. He raised his hands, and she began to sing. The portal shimmered into existence, and the villagers seemed in awe of the complex trick that seemed to meld light and shadow magic together. One by one, they all stepped through. Ravio had to be pushed in, like always. Finally, Marin and Mr. Link stepped through together. The portal vanished behind them, and they were left to take in the scenery before them.

It was an era in ruin, with a dark sky, and a pale sun that barely gave off enough light to even bother Mr. Link a little. The sun kept ducking behind angry swriling clouds that crackle with the threat of lighting. Dead grass and poison plants were everywhere and the water was toxic green. A small village lay before them, with ruined houses and terribly constructed buildings. Shady looking Hylians milled about outside. It looked a lot like her Link’s era… only different in the worst ways possible. 

Ravio’s frown was not hard to translate as he spun around, gesturing dramatically, but trembling more than he had been whenever he’d been going to save Colin only a few days prior. 

“Welcome, would-be heroes, to my home country.” He said with a tremble in his normally dramatic voice, “Welcome to Lorule.”


	30. Welcome to Lorule.

“This is your home?!” Groose asked, looking around in alarm. Ravio flinched, pressing his finger to his lips.

“Shhh! Don’t draw attention to us! Are you crazy!” He hissed. Groose looked ready to wave his hands in the air and cause a racket, but Aura grabbed his wrist and sent the man a warning glare. Groose swallowed, clearly terrified of Aura and went quiet.” 

“Ravio… What happened here?” Marin asked in a very soft voice, noting the destruction and the poison leaching into the land. Link had to agree, this place looked like Ganon had ruled it a couple dozen times and had left it as a wasteland that was pretending to be a kingdom. The only one seemingly unaffected by the state of Ravio’s home was Aura, who had likely, knowing the time period she’d come from, had seen far worse places.

“...Lorule is Hyrule’s reverse.” Ravio grumbled. Link narrowed his eyes at Ravio.

“Like a dark world?” Link asked. Ravio shook his head.

“No. A dark world is a shadow and reflection of Hyrule. This is a reverse. It's its own realm. With its own history… and its own versions of Demise and Hylia and the Golden three… only they are all… reversed. Inverted. We even have our own triforce… it’s upside down.” 

“Okay… so then… why is this place… ruined?” Groose asked, gesturing to the landscape. Ravio swallowed.

“...It also had its own Hero and Cycle. A long, long time ago, there was this guy… and he forged this sword… a counterpart to the master sword, for this realm’s version of Hylia, a goddess called Lilda, in hopes to give her an edge over Malice, this realm’s version of Demise. It was called the Merchant’s Blade and the goddess refined it to become the Goddess Sword. She faced Demise with the weapon… and was killed. She was forced to take on a mortal form, and the merchant who made the blade sacrificed himself to seal Malice away, dying with the demon king. But the Demon King returned seeking our Triforce some years later as a being called Yuga and Lilda’s mortal incarnation, Hilda, chose to use the Triforce to banish him, before destroying it completely.”

“They destroyed the Triforce?!” Groose and Aura cried out. Ravio hushed them again.

“...Yes, and it threw Lorule off balance. Every time Hilda returned, so did Yuga. And Yuga would destroy everything in search of the Triforce, only to fade with time when he once more realized it was gone. No real Hero came to save Lorule. Though, there were a few foolish souls who tried to stop him and were killed as a result. This…” Ravio waved his hands at the kingdom they stood in, “Is the result of thousands upon thousands of years of these cycles and the result of going so long without a Triforce to keep balance and to keep the world from falling apart.” He then smiled slightly.

“...But then we found Hyrule.” Ravio said, “And Mr. Hero. He came here, defeated Yuga, and returned to his Hyrule where he and Zelda used their Triforce to give us back our own and save this land. Since then… well… things have been better. The world is no longer literally falling apart. Yuga is dead and the hope to save this kingdom has been reignited.”

“...Ravio… I knew Lorule was in bad condition… but I had no idea that-” Linkle breathed.

“Yes, well… I never expected to return here.” Ravio admitted, “Nor did I expect to bring you with me, Linkle. I love my kingdom… but I could not stay here longer. Hilda sent me away, which is why I reside with Mr. Hero.”

“Why did she send you away?” Link asked, narrowing his eyes at Ravio. Ravio swallowed.

“It matters not. Let us just find what we need. We need to find the Goddess Blade. Linkle, what does your compass tell us?” Ravio asked. Linkle looked pretty bothered that Ravio was avoiding Link’s question. Link himself wasn’t too sure he was okay with it, but the way Ravio was shaking and glancing around nervously kept Link from pressing .Linkle grabbed her compass, looking down with hesitation before pointing northeast.

“We need to go that way.”

“It’s not in Skull Woods?” Ravio objected immediately, “Which is due North of the village we’re at? All my research said that it was supposed to be there.”

“Um, well, the compass said we have to go that way.” Linkle said with a shrug, “Through the town and to the North East… do you have a map of this country?” Ravio fumbled immediately with his satchel before pulling out a well loved map and giving it to Linkle. She looked at it and compared it thoughtfully to the compass.

“Well, we can go through Skull Woods and around the castle, or past the Castle and through the town. Or maybe it’s in the castle, which kinda makes sense, so we should just go there? The major structures in that direction are this village, the castle, and an ice version of Death Mountain.”

“It wouldn’t be in a village.” Ravio inserted, “This is the Lorulen version of the Master Sword. It would be hidden away.” 

“So Castle or Ice Ruins.” Aura said, before frowning, “...Does anyone here have clothes for that kind of thing?”

“It’s probably in the palace.” Groose cut in, “Hilda uses the sword, right? Kinda like how Link uses it in Hyrule?” Ravio swallowed hard.

“...It’s not in the palace. I would’ve known. I used to live there as an advisor.” Ravio countered. Link arched an eyebrow.

“I dunno. There’s a lot of secrets in Hyrule Castle in my era that not even my Link, a guy who is a childhood friend with the princess, doesn’t know.” Link pointed out.

“It’s not in the palace.” Ravio insisted, “We should go around it altogether, go north, through Skull Woods and around to the Ice Ruin. I have supplies for extreme cold, so we don’t need to stop and purchase such objects.” 

“But that would require a serious amount if walking when just cutting through the village and going past the castle is ten times faster.” Link objected.

“I know a shortcut through the woods!” Ravio insisted. Link offered him a deadpanned look.

“Really. You know a shortcut through a place called Skull Woods that is likely filled with monsters and ghosts?” Link questioned. Ravio nodded, insistent. Link somehow found himself doubting that…. Considering he had to be escorted home the first night Link met the guy. There was just no way Ravio went into that forest, at least, not on his own.

“I played there as a youth.” Ravio stated, “I grew up in this village.” 

“Then you won’t have a problem going into the village and to the castle first.” Link insisted. Ravio opened his mouth, looking ready to object, before hesitating, swallowing, and clutching his fists. Link couldn’t tell if he was angered or nervous anymore, because he seemed to be getting annoyed with them for some weird reason. 

“You don’t want to go into that village.” Ravio stated plainly, “It’s called the Village of Outcasts. It’s a town of thieves. They’ll rob us blind. And they really won’t care if I’m with you, because I did not leave this village on the best of terms. And if they find out you’re a shadow, Mr. Link, they will kill you on sight. It may not seem like it, but it is daytime now. Your magic is weak and I know they will overcome you at this hour… and if they discover that Marin can use light magic without a conduct, they will declare her a wicked mage and have her executed accordingly.” That… that did seem like a really good reason to just go through Skull Woods. But they knew being in the Castletown of the Era of Twilight with a shadow had been a risk too, and yet they’d stayed there without any qualms. Link didn’t plan on using magic around random Hylians and he doubted Marin planned on singing a lullaby or anything when it could cost them her life.

“Then we’ll watch our stuff and get through fast. We won’t use magic at all. Problem solved.” Link decided. Ravio wrung his hands, pacing now.

“Really, I would rather not risk it. It’s in ruins. I’m sure! Trust me. I lived here. I know what I’m talking about.” Ravo insisted. Link groaned, frustrated by Ravio’s stubbornness and seriously wondering why he was avoiding the castle and village now. It’s almost like he was less afraid of a scary, monster infested forest and a terrible, snow covered mountain than he was of a simple village and the castle where he used to serve at. 

“Fine.” Link snapped, “We’ll go around the castle and village, but if Linkle's compass makes it clear that we’re going the wrong way, we’re turning around and going back to the castle, got it?” Ravio bobbed his head in agreement. He seemed very much relieved. Linke nodded, rolling up the map and already surging forwards, making an arc around the village and going for the woods located to the North of it. They were nearly clear of the village, when someone called out at them. Link spun around, a little confused to see a couple of teenagers approaching their party with wild looks of glee plastered on their faces. Ravio went pale, grabbing both Linkle’s and Link’s hands as he held them tight and seemed to try and hide behind the tiny shadow and the would-be hero.

“Bunny! Is that you!?” One called in a sing-song voice. Ravio gulped.

“Keep walking. Ignore them.” He hissed. Groose scowled and seemed to make himself bigger, drawing his blade and getting in front of all of them. Aura rested her hand on her sword, narrowing her eyes while Link fingered Demise’s Blade, listening to the spirit’s finicky chiming. Linkle, with the hand Ravio wasn’t actively clinging to, seemed to be itching for her crossbow. Marin did not draw a blade nor any weapon, but her expression seemed to grow hard and guarded. The group of teens halted.

There were four of them, all with dark hair that matched Ravio and Link’s exactly. Their clothes were filthy and their faces smeared with grime. A wild, almost savage light flickered in their eyes, as if they were hungry monsters and not four teenage boys. They clearly knew who Ravio was, because they stared directly at him… and Link did not like the greedy glint in their expressions as they seemed to examine Ravio like he was a prize.

“W-what d-do you want?” Ravio stammered.

“It is the bunny!” The leader laughed, and his ulgy friends snickered in agreement. The leader made a dramatic bowing gesture, “Hello, your majesty! What brings you to our humble little village? I thought you went to live with and advise your foolish little sister!”

“I-I d-did not mean to-” Ravio started.

“Oh, what? The bunny is above us now that he’s tasted royal life?” The leader sneered, “Honestly, Ravs, I think that’s hurtful. What happened to remembering your roots? Oh, wait… that’s right, you betrayed that, just like with everything else, coward.” Ravio seemed to wilt at these words.

“Mr. G-Gigeli, I a-am just leaving I’m not here to s-stir a-any t-trouble s-so if you c-could-”

“Who are these people, bunny?” The leader, now dubbed Mr. Gigeli asked, gesturing to their group, “What? So chicken now that you have to run around Lorule with a guard instead of facing the music like a good little traitor? Pfft. Hilda’s wasting her time protecting you.” Aura stepped forwards, offering them one of her terrifying evil glares.

“Back off.” She snarled, and the four actually flinched, taking a step back. Mr. Gigeli whistled lowly.

“Oh, this one is quite the feral one. Look at all of those scars!” He laughed, “And who's that pretty lady you’re holding hands with? Or the red head behind you? Gotta say, rabbit. You keep fine company!” Linkle let go of Ravio, stalking towards them and pressing her index finger on his chest in a ‘listen here’ gesture. Link swallowed hard. Oh, no. Linkle was angry. This would be interesting.

“Who the heck do you think you are, talking to Mr. Ravio that way? I don’t care who you are but you’ve got another think coming if you think you can act so rudely against one of the bravest people I know. This man saved your kingdom, and you should be grateful. Instead, here you are insulting him and lacking any sort of decency while you then proceed to compliment any female company he keeps like a creep! What the actual heck is wrong with you?” Linkle snarled. The man rolled his eyes.

“Oh, right. Thank you, brave Prince Ravio for saving Lorule by running away and getting someone else to do it like a real hero! How can I ever repay you?” Mr. Gigeli said, sarcasm dripped from his voice in layers as he rolled his eyes. 

“...Ravio’s a prince?” Groose mumbled under his breath, processing this information.

“An illegitimate pretender of course!” Gigeli said, “Showed up at the palace a few years back claiming to be the son of the King and half brother of the Princess. The nerve of him, right?” Gigeli then rolled his eyes gesturing to his buddies who snickered in agreement, “And then the Queen had the nerve to believe him and make him her oh so treasured advisor! Everyone knows he was just trying to get free money and food from her, but why wouldn’t that fool of a woman believe this crook?” Ravio snarled, startling everyone, considering he’d just been timid and fearful moments before.

“Don’t you dare insult the Queen of Lorule!” He growled, “You know nothing!” Gigeli just smirked.

“Don’t I?” Gigeli asked, cocking his head to the side, “Oh right. It’s not the royal family’s fault the world is like this.” Gigeli shoved past Linkle, pointing at Ravio as his face twisted into rage, “It’s yours! It’s yours and all of those like you! You did this to us! Don’t think going to the castle or running around with these bodyguards will protect you. If you knew what he was, you wouldn’t protect him! You’d run him through with those flashy swords of yours. The fact that you haven’t yet tells me you know nothing.” Ravio flinched back, grabbing to the nearest person, which was unfortunately Link. He was now acting like a guilty and wounded animal that was trying to act like nothing was wrong and was trying to get away from the conflict as quickly as possible. 

“Stop!” All eyes settled on an enraged Marin, gobsmacked. She never yelled. And she was hard to anger. Link swallowed hard, suddenly more afraid of Marin as she wagged her finger at the kids like a scolding parent than he was afraid of Aura and Linkle combined… and that said something because those two knew how to be outright scary.

“Look, I don’t exactly know what is going on here, but you four better get home quickly before I let these ladies behind me chop you to pieces for your outright stupidity. I’m not kidding. I will laugh if you get yourselves stabbed for hurting Mr. Ravio. Whatever you think he's done or whatever his past may be, he’s our friend and I frankly believe you all should be ashamed of yourselves for speaking to any person like this! You say we don’t know anything, but clearly you're the ignorant ones if you're gonna be spouting out such blatant nonsense about a person you very clearly do not know all too well! Now, you’re gonna march yourselves home or I swear, you’ll be sorry. And speaking of which, I believe you should apologize to Mr. Ravio, though I won’t be surprised if you're too high and mighty and above him to at least give a person that sort of decency.” Gigeli blinked at her, startled and seemingly confused, as if he couldn’t register that he’d just been scolded by their resident serin. He finally scoffed, rolling his eyes and turning to his buddies.

“Ah, whatever. That bunny’s not gonna last very long anyways. Don’t blame me when you come back crying cos’ he got someone killed or because he outright betrays your trust.” He grumbled, “Come on. I’m sure there's more interesting things to do in the hideout.” Link snorted. Hideout? What, were they ten? Clearly such a place was called lair or den. The teens wandered off, still acting like idiots as they left. Ravio let out a small exhale, seemingly relieved. Link wanted to know what the heck that had been about, but a look from Marin kept Link from doing so. 

“Lets just get to these woods and find this ruin.” Link grumbled.


	31. The Prince and Hero.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While in the Skull Woods, Link learns something about Ravio.

“These woods are definitely haunted.” Aura decided, noting the eerie fog and the strange noises they kept hearing around them.

“...This is basically the Lorulen equivalent to the Lost Woods.” Ravio supplied, and Aura immediately stopped walking, her eyes wide with alarm.

“What?!” She cried, “Ravio! Only certain people are allowed to go into the Lost Woods and not be forever lost! If this place is Lorule’s Lost Woods!”

“I’m permitted to walk here.” Ravio replied firmly, “I’m the son of the King.”

“Okay, and which one of Hilda’s parent’s actually carried the blood of Lilda?” Aura asked. Ravio swallowed.

“The Queen.” He admitted.

“So you aren’t a descendant of a goddess.” Link deadpanned. Ravio shook his head.

“Then how the heck is you being the son of the King helpful?!” Aura ranted. 

“It just is.” Ravio insisted.

“How did that happen exactly?” Linkle asked, “You never mentioned to me that Hilda was your half-sister. You just told me you were her advisor.”

“...My mother died in childbirth.” Ravio admitted, “And then my father was arranged to remarry to the Queen soon after… but the Lorulens did not approve of my father already having a son, seeing as they too hold the superstition against male sons of royalty that this era’s Hyrule holds… even if I don’t yield any of Lilda’s blood, being the son of the King still made me a prince, adbit one with no true claim to the throne. Princes aren’t allowed, so they tried to have me killed… He sent me away instead to live with the Outcasts. I didn’t return to Hilda’s side until after they both died.” 

“I don’t get that.” Groose grunted, “Why don’t they like princes in this era?” Ravio hiestated, his eyes scanning the mist they were walking through.

“In Hyrule, it was prophesied that the next Hero of Hyrule would be born a prince. In that timeline, the last Hero failed to kill Ganon, so the Hylians decided that the birth of a new Hero spelled certain destruction for Hyrule, and therefore they were outlawed and killed. Mr. Hero is the blood son of the Queen and has claim to the throne, but his birth was hidden and he dares not to this day announce it. Besides, I feel he is a better adventure than a King. Even if they didn’t kill him for being a prince, he would surely be miserable in court. Trust me.” Ravio chuckled a little, “As for Lorule, well, it was foretold the next coming of Malice would be when the next Prince of Lorule appeared… and sure enough, a few years after I told Hilda, Yuga came.” Understanding seemed to dawn on them all.

“That’s why they blame you for everything that has happened these past few years. Because you came right out and told them who you were and bad things started happening immediately after.” Link realized. Ravio nodded, his shoulders sinking as he walked.

“...I had thought… that because it was the King that gave me this claim and not the Queen that it wouldn’t matter.” Ravio muttered, “I was wrong.” Ravio flinched as Marin settled a hand on Ravio’s shoulder, smiling at him faintly.

“It’s not your fault, Ravio.” She assured him, “And don’t forget, because of you and our Link, Lorule has it’s Triforce again. Because of you, things are getting better here, remember? You said they were.” Ravio lowered his head, watching his shoes as they walked.

“Yes… Better.” He agreed numbly. He then stopped walking through the woods entirely, “It’s growing late. We should find a safe place to rest.”

“Camp?” Groose said in a strangled voice, “In these woods? Is that safe?” Aura glanced around warily, shaking her head, showing that it wasn’t.

“Probably not.” She informed him. Link waved their worry off.

“We have a Shadow Mage and a Light Siren lady watching out for magic stuff and we’ve got the universal magical artifacts expert, three awesome swordsmen, a shadow magic sword, Hyrule’s greatest archer and crossbow specialist, and a weapon of mass destruction. I think we’re good.” Link said plainly.

“...Weapon of mass destruction?” Marin asked in confusion.

“The cucco.” Link provided. Rapheo, who’d been silently following after Linkle the entire walk, clucked once and turned it’s head towards Link, glaring at him with those beady eyes. Link shuddered. 

“We seriously need to address this random fear every Link ever has of chickens one of these days.” Aura deadpanned, “I mean, even his shadow is afraid of them!” 

“I’m not afraid of cuccos!” Link objected. His flinching at Rapheo’s increase of clucking said otherwise, though he tried to conceal it, “Just… lets find a place to set up camp. I’ll watch us tonight and stay and Ravio’s shadow in the morning.” They collectively agreed and set to work on putting up camp. Ravio started a fire and began cooking, Linkle got out the bedrolls and set them up in a small clearing in the forest. Marin fed Sheerow and Rapheo and went through their supplies with Aura, and Link and Groose were assigned wood collecting duty. The two worked in relative silence for a while before Groose asked Link if the sword he was using was still acting weird.

“It’s fine Groose.” Link insisted, “Ghiraham behaves for me. I’m his new master. He’s a little too happy to kill things, but he’s asleep and stuck in a sword so I really doubt that’s a problem. Besides, I think the more human sides of him are what I’ve been talking to these past few days, not the demon.”

“It talks to you?” Groose asked in alarm.

“...Kinda… He chimes. He has no voice, but he can make a chiming in my ear or show me visions and stuff when I’m asleep and-” Link trailed offer, his expression going slack as the sword chimed right then. His eyes went wide as he saw flashes of a past that belonged to neither him nor Ghiraham… but to Ravio.

‘A small boy with emerald eyes and dark hair, raised by a female thief who had discovered him upon the knights of Lorule tossing him aside. Growing older, being taught to hide away and steal. Taught to never be caught. Being caught meant bad things.’ 

‘Small boy reached only ten when he was caught. He’d snuck into the hideout of a large gang of thieves when the one who raised him vanished. Imprisonment. Years of cowering. Praying they wouldn’t pick on him. Boy later learns his caretaker was killed for trying to steal.’

‘Small boy is let go. The gang decides to use him as a lure. Act helpless. Be scared and try and get sympathy from others. When the few that try to help him take the bait, the gang profits… but this was Lorule, and very few did. In fact, some would merely hurt him for his efforts, leaving him even more fearful.’

‘Boy finally escapes the gang. He’s no longer a child, but a teen. He hides his face, afraid to be found again and recognized. He finds himself at his caretaker’s abandoned hideout. There he finds a letter from the king. The letter gives the boy hope. He finds himself outside the palace, wrinkled and worn letter in hand. He’s taken to see the Princess. The boy finally has a home.’ 

‘The knights hate the boy. They tell him he is cursed. He flinches when they enter a room. They torment him when the Princess is not looking. They tease him for his flinching in fear. For shaking and trembling like a frightened rabbit. Call him a coward. He knows they are right.’

‘Greudo comes to the palace in the Princess’s time of need. Boy is afraid. She won’t hear his advice anymore, but it’s fine. He has a plan. So like a coward boy hides his face again, and goes to get help from someone better than him.’ 

“Mr. Link!” Link blinked, registering that Groose was shaking him frantically.

“...We really need to talk to Ravio.” Link muttered.

“You blanked out for a good minute there!” Groose said in alarm, “You were talking about the sword, and-” Link ignored him, grabbing up his pile of wood and going back to camp, an objecting Groose at his tail. Camp was all set up now, and Ravio was almost done with supper. Link roughly tossed his bundle of wood down, glaring down at Ravio.

“You're cursed.” He declared, and the conversations at the camp went silent. 

“Mr. Link what are you-” Marin started.

“You’re just like Him, aren’t you? If Hilda is Zelda and Hylia, and Yuga is Ganon and Demise, then you’re Link.” Link accused. Ravio began to shake again.

“...That… that is-”

“...Wait… you guys didn’t know Ravio was the chosen Hero of Lorule?” Linkle asked in confusion. Everyone let the information sink in, and Ravio seemed to look very small just then.

“...Is that true?” Aura asked in confusion, “Are you the Lorulen version of the Hero?” Ravio didn’t respond at first, curling in on himself and hugging his knees.

“...Yes… I am…” He whispered. 

“But you said Lorule doesn’t have a Hero.” Groose objected.

“I said no real Hero came. Only foolish souls that perished.” Ravio corrected, “Though more accurately, one foolish soul.” Marin sucked in a sharp breath. A morbidness clung to the misty air of the Skull Woods. 

“You’re the first incarnation of Ravio to survive Yuga.” Link breathed in horror. Ravio just barked out a bitter laugh at those words.

“All because I never truly faced him. I tricked Mr. Hero into doing it.” Ravio spat out, “I cheated fate. And now Lorule seems determined to punish me for wanting to live until I’m old and grey like a normal person desires.” Lorule wants to… the goddesses of Lorule weren’t twisting fate to have him killed because he cheated death, were they? Were this version of the golden three that much more cruel than the ones of Hyrule that they required their Hero not only to suffer for them, but to become a sacrifice who’s blood would forever water the withering Land of Lorule?

“Who’s trying to kill you Ravio? Other than the lizard, I mean.” Link growled, “Who here is responsible for you having to flee Lorule in order to keep yourself alive? Is it the golden goddesses of this world? Another dark threat? Name them, and I’ll handle them for you, I promise.” 

“I already told you. Lorule.” Ravio growled darkly. 

“... I don’t-” Link started, and Ravio was on his feet towering over Link. He’d pulled his hood down to reveal his face full to them for the first time that trip. He was the sitting image of the Hero of Legend, only with dark hair and green eyes. Eyes that were currently pooling with tears.

“Lorule!” He snapped, “All of Lorule wants me dead, Mr. Link! The knights! The people! The monsters! The goddesses! Everyone! Had you not been there when those four approached us in the village, then I would’ve been killed immediately. They think if they kill me the cycle will be resolved in this era for a few more centuries, and they’ll be able to properly use the Triforce to kill Yuga forever and make everything better again. They don’t realize the cycle was resolved when Link killed Yuga! The only person left in this entire country that isn’t trying to have me executed is my sister! And her hands are tied, for she cannot even trust her own knights and guards to not kill me in my sleep!” Stunned silence. Ravio withdrew, realizing the outburst he’d just made and swallowing hard as he turned from Link.

“She sent me away.” He muttered, “Because Lorule wants me dead.”

“...You… you didn’t want to go into the village or to go to the palace.” Linkle whispered.

“You’re avoiding the people.” Aura agreed. Ravio just nodded in agreement, hanging his head in shame as if it was somehow his fault his home country was full of terrible people. He slunk back down grabbing Sheerow from the air and holding him close. 

“Ravio, where is the Goddess Blade really at?” Link asked in a stern tone, “You already know where it is, don’t you?” 

“...In a secret room, hidden deep within the palace.” Ravio admitted.


	32. Chapter 32

That night was spent in relative silence while Linkle calmed Ravio down and he eventually fell fast asleep. Once he was asleep, Link couldn’t help but gawk and admire how much he looked like the Hero of Legend and how easy it would’ve been to figure out that he was a Hero, a real, goddess certified Hero with the ability to use something like the Master Sword they kept mentioning to kill dark forces, had Link simply made the man take his hood off ages ago.   
It was then that Link came up with his plan.

When Ravio awoke the next day along with the others, Link told him his plan for infiltrating Lorule Castle and getting Ravio safely to the Goddess Sword. Ravio hated the plan. He claimed that the plan had him once more allowing someone else to take his place, but Link insisted. They couldn’t risk Ravio getting caught. Not only because he was basically that brother that everyone had a soft spot for now, but also because he was the Hero. He needed to survive so he could use the Goddess Blade, a weapon only he and Hilda could touch and use, to kill the Dark Lizard. Link eventually convinced him to agree, before hiding and resting in his shadow for the rest of the trip out of the woods and halfway through the trip towards the castle.

Now, here Link was. He’d shifted forms again, this time mimicking the Hero of Legend, but keeping his normally dark hair and making his robes purple, not the red that that particular Hero had taken up wearing. He had on Ravio’s scarf and hood, which was pulled up to reveal his face and the red eyes that he had not been able to convince to turn any color other than red or blue. They had, unfortunately, needed to steal a cart from the market outside of the castle, which Link used his shadowy magic to give the false illusion of there being heaps of hay where the real Ravio, Linkle, and Aura sat.

False cords of rope made from shadow were laced around Link’s wrist and around Link’s torso and arms. Marin sat at the front of the cart, with Groose, in all his strength, pulling it towards the castle wall. Groose and Marin were posing as siblings, seeing as they both had red hair. Linkle had wanted Aura to pretend to be her sister, to which Aura quickly disagreed. They tried to persuade her otherwise since Linkle and Aura actually looked like sisters, but she didn’t budge and used Groose being the strongest one next to Link as an excuse to get out of it. 

The guards had stopped them at the gate and had been preparing to search the cart immediately, when they ceased trying to look all together upon Marin and Groose eagerly presenting the bounty they’d captured. 

“We found the sap out near the river on our way up here from the farm.” Marin lied smoothly, “He tried to run, but Groose and I caught him and we learned about the quiet reward sent out for him being captured.” 

Link resisted the urge to just kill the guard that pulled him down from the cart, grabbing his chin and examining him as if to double check he was the real deal. He seemed satisfied that Link was Ravio, not noticing that his eyes were the wrong color entirely. 

“You’ve done Lorule a great service in capturing this traitor. Continue inside and finish unloading your haul. I’ll have a man there pay you. Be subtle, everyone knows the Queen can’t know about this. That foolish woman still thinks he’s her brother, and therefore should be protected.” 

“Of course, sir.” Groose said cheerfully, as if the guard hadn’t just admitted that Hilda’s men were planning on killing a man behind her back. Link watched mutely as the others went into the Castle Walls, unbothered, and free to do what they pleased once inside so long as they weren’t caught. Ravio said he knew the palace and its secret passages well enough to get them around the castle unseen, but he needed to get inside the castle first. Now that he was inside, completely undetected too, they could begin their hunt for the Goddess Sword while Link kept the knights and guards distracted with his fake Ravio act.

After watching them disappear into the walls, Link was jerked by the guard and forced to march inside himself. Three more joined as his escorts, one on each side of him and one behind and one in front, all ready to cut him down should he try to escape. Link didn’t even attempt, and resisted the urge to snort at their futile efforts to keep a shadow mage from getting away. Granted, they didn’t know he was a shadow nor did they know he was plenty equipped to use the hidden sword on his back, which was actively helping him keep up the illusions he was casting despite it still being midday. 

Finally, he was brought to what Link assumed was the dinning hall were all of the soldiers and knights gathered to eat. He was shoved to his knees as a very big man clad entirely in armor got up and examined him next.

“Ah, if it isn’t the princeling himself.” The knight chuckled, “What’s wrong, bunny got your tongue, boy?” Link swallowed hard, before mimicking Ravio’s voice exactly, mixing in dramatic flare and fearful trembling and stammering into his voice.

“Y-You c-can’t d-do this t-to me.” He stammered, “W-when my, my s-sister finds o-out y-you im-imprisoned me s-she’ll-” 

“Imprison you?” The knight laughed, “Who said anything about that? Feli, get my axe and gather the guard. Hmm… we’ll have to cremate the boy so that Hilda never finds out about this, and I’ll need volunteers to keep her occupied while we conduct the execution, clean up the mess, and dispose of him completely.” Internally Link was snarling, about ready to launch himself at the man and strangle him for wanting to kill someone so easy to love like Ravio. What the heck was wrong with these people that they would simply hate Ravio so much? Sure, he was the Hero, but Link could hardly believe anyone could spend a short period of time with Ravio and not like the guy. He just had that merchant’s gift that made anyone he met trust him and want to buy from him, no matter how outrageous the prices or how bad the product

He didn’t strangle the knight.

He needed to wait for that. He had to wait until the majority of the guards were distracted by the arrival of ‘Ravio’ before making his move.

He waited while a few more guards and knights came. All sneering and jeering. All expressing their clear distaste for the merchant and making Link’s blood boil. He could hear the sword’s chiming at the back of his mind, urging him to strike. Calling for Link to avenger Ravio for the trouble these men put the merchant through. 

“Go right ahead, master.” It seemed to urge. And to be frank, the whole situation gave Link a bit of nostalgia. He couldn’t help but let his mind wander back to the day he’d attacked Hyrule castle before pretending to be the dying Hero of Men in order to trick the knights and the Hero’s father into falling under his lure. This time, however, Link had a good feeling that he was actually on the right side when he would be attacking. No attacking just out of spite and rage and for a good laugh or two or because some crazy mage told him to. Now it was personal. Now it was about saving a friend, and then saving his brother as a byproduct. That, to Link, seemed like a great cause worthy of spilling a little blood over. It was a little worrisome that Ghiraham was so eager to agree, but Link didn’t care as much as Groose or the others probably would’ve. It was probably just a byproduct of being turned into a psycho demon lord before being turned into a sword, sealed, and then left to slumber for the rest of eternity while his humanity seemed to loathe the demon king and his demon side seemed to thirst for violence and blood. 

And to be frank, Link totally got that. 

If he were anyone else, he would’ve tossed the sword a while ago, regardless of its usefulness. But he was himself, even if he currently looked like Ravio. He’d killed before and had no qualms about doing so now, especially since it was now for what Link considered to be a truly righteous cause in contrast to senseless violence, like Vaati used to encourage him to commit. 

The main knight now had his axe. He was examining its edges in a manner that made Link wrinkle his nose in disgust. He wasn’t exactly the person to talk to about what morals a knight should have, but he was fairly certain that taking glee in killing an innocent man simply for existing was not a desirable quality in a good knight. Hilda really needed to invest in new ones, or at the very least, find people in this wasteland of a country that still clung to good ethics and make them members of her court and guard. Start from scratch. Rebuild the kingdom from the ground up and fire the royal guard slowly, replacing them with more trustworthy figures. 

He noticed that there were several dozen men there now. Not the entire guard, but a unit’s worth. Enough to at least get some attention to himself. He was certain he’d get a lot more attention whenever the real fun started. His fingers drummed impatiently against his knees as he waited for the knight to be satisfied and ordered for Link to be brought forward. They hauled him back to his feet, bringing him to the knight that Link was quickly realizing was the captain of the guard. 

“Ravio of the Village of Outcasts, you stand accused of treason against the kingdom of Lorule. How do you plea?” The captain asked. 

“Innocent, of course.” Link said, “Can’t say the same about you guys though. Pretty sure murdering the brother of the Queen without her permission is considered treason.” The knight stared at Link, taken aback by the response.

“What, you grew a spine in the time you were cowering away?” The captain of the guard snorted. 

“Trust me, guy. You are literally the least of my problems right now.” Link said with a clear eye roll losing the Ravio voice entirely, “And considering your prepping to behead and cremate me, that says quite a bit about my life right now.” The captain stared at Link, completely dumbfounded by the snarky response. 

“Anyways, before we do this, I’ve really gotta know, what the actual heck makes you think that killing an innocent man is gonna make this place any better? From what I can tell, you’re just going to make everything worse. I mean, what logic is there behind this wild belief that, because I’m not dead, Yuga’s gonna somehow magically rise again? Because for something like that to happen, ironically, you’d actually need to kill an innocent man or woman with a certain bloodline or spirit. A wonderful example of someone who’s murder could trigger Yuga’s return? The Hero of Lorule.” Link deadpanned, “Just thought you should know before you try doing something rediciously dumb.” 

“Enough of this. Clearly you’re just rambling to delay your demise.” The captain said, roughly grabbing him and trying to force him into place. 

“Heh, not my demise.” He laughed softly. 

“What in the world is going on here!?” The captain froze and Link’s ears twitched in confusion at the sharp, female tone that cut through the room. The grip on Link loosened and he craned his neck to see a young woman walking briskly into the area, several frantic guards trying to halt her and calm her. She had dark violet hair, pale skin, and crimson eyes and dressed in a similar outfit to what his Zelda whore, only with upside down triforces in the paces were normal triforces normally were stitched. She looked like a younger, female Ravio but with a sharper nose and she leaned heavily on a scepter she walked with as she strode towards them. Link swallowed, closing his eyes immediately, because he knew the disguise would not fool Ravio’s half sister. Seemed that maybe violence would not be in order today if the Queen could make her own racket over the near execution.   
He heard her footsteps stop, and he knew she was staring.

“...Ravio?” She gasped incredulously. Link did not respond, because he figured she would know Ravio’s mannerisms better that the captain did and would pick up on Link’s act quickly.

“Ravio, what are you doing here? I thought you left!” She asked, “And you? Just what were you planning to do to him? Is this why my guards and everyone in this castle are all acting so off?!”

“My Queen, I can explain!” The captain sputtered.

“You were going to kill him.” She snarled. Link flinched a little at her hostile tone. It was so until the one his Zelda took whenever she was upset. This tone was darker, more menacing and carrying an underlying threat within it. Why were all the girls he was running into lately just flat out scary? He felt the captain’s grip on him tighten.

“My Queen, this is for the good of Lorule. You know the dangers of letting a Hero live.” He said simply.

“And you know the dangers of going against my word. I had ordered that my brother not be harmed! Do you wish to be hung right now, because I am more than happy to arrange that for this treason.” She replied. Link had to smirk ever so slightly.

He did tell them that this was considered treason… though he wasn’t actually Ravio. 

“My Queen… I am sorry.” The captain said, and Link’s ears twitched more as he heard the man pick his ax up and felt himself being forced back down again, “But if you cannot see reason, then I must take action. You’ll thank me for this later. Hold her back, if you will.” Hilda growled and he heard the sounds of her punching at people. The idiot was going to go ahead with this anyways, regardless of the Queen watching. Oh… oh no that would not do at all. Link snapped his eyes open, and they glew with a certain excitement. 

“Well then.” He said, “If that’s what you desire to do to your own Hero, then I have no choice but to kill you for disobeying your Queen.” 

“What...” Hilda said before she gasped, and stopped fighting in realization, “That’s not Ravio.” Link just smirked, his disguise fading away. The fake bonds shimmered out of existence entirely and with impressive ease and strength he threw the men holding him down off of him and drew Demise’s Blade.

“Lets not make this boring, shall we?” He requested before he lunged.


	33. The Goddess Sword.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They follow Linkle’s compass, the weapon Midna sent them to retrieve.

“Why are all secret passageways in old castles really creepy?” Aura complained. 

“Right?” Linkle agreed, “I mean, doesn’t anyone know how to make a secret passage why that doesn’t scream, ‘oh gosh! Something died in here?’” 

“Linkle… these are catacombs.” Ravio muttered. 

“Huh, well that explains that… why is the Master Sword of this world buried in catacombs under the palace?” Linkle asked.

“I mean, who’s idea was it to put ours in ruined temples or difficult to navigate forests? I mean, it’s not like someone’s gonna come along and steal it! Only Link and Zelda can touch it.” Aura agreed.

“...I have no idea.” Ravio admitted, “Probably to keep someone from cursing it.”

“The Blade of Evil’s Bane?” Groose snorted, “Good luck trying that.”

“...Well, I mean, the lizard’s trying to corrupt the Hero and that’s supposed to be impossible too, from what you’ve all told me.” Marin pointed out. They fell silent, realizing that Marin was actually right. 

“Huh. Well then, that explains the creepy catacombs.” Linkle decided, cutting through the silence and making them all chuckle a little nervously. Getting into the secret passage had been the hardest part of their mission, but once they got into the palace walls and after Groose and Marin got paid for ‘Ravio’s Capture’ (Ravio insisted they take the money for that because it was a lot and no right minded businessman would pass up that much free money.) They had to slink away from the stables where they were supposed to be unloading the hay they didn’t actually have. After pretending to do this for a good minute, the guards in the area wandered off, clearly distracted by the news that Ravio the Merchant had been caught. 

It was then the real Ravio climbed out of his hiding place, secured his hood, hammer, and sword, and they began searching the palace systematically and carefully, using Linkle’s compass to show them which door to take. And now they were in the catacombs spread under the castle and into Lorule field. Unfortunately, the only entrances to the catacombs were the secret passages in the castle due to the paranoia of the royal family, who liked to lock away royal artifacts and the dead of the royal bloodline alike in the crypts. It was no surprise to Ravio that the room that held the Goddess Sword was buried somewhere down there. 

Ravio stopped walking at a small fork in the tunnel system. He swallowed hard, head tilting towards each path as he held the lantern they were using up a little higher. He glanced back at Linkle, who was already fumbling for her compass.

“Keep going forwards.” She ordered. Ravio nodded slightly, before continuing on the path towards the Goddess Sword. In all honesty, he was a bit anxious. He’d never been allowed to approach or touch the divine weapon. The Lorulen Knights had gotten this ridiculous idea that because he had the power to draw it, he was going to straight up steal the sword and sell it. He had argued that the idea was dumb, since he knew only he and Hilda could actually use it, so there was no real point in selling a weapon that was useless to everyone but himself. Besides, if he was going to steal and sell anything, it would be the Captain of the Guard's sword. It was very well made and apparently a gift from Ravio’s stepmother, the Queen. Something like that was worth a fortune and it was useful and practical to people that were not him. Alas, the man basically slept with the weapon, so he never got the chance, which was disappointing. 

Now that Ravio was drawing closer to the sword itself, he began to wonder if he had been the only Hero of Lorule that was denied the right to carry the blade that they needed to kill Yuga. A blade, Ravio knew, that technically was his birthright to own and carry since it had been created by the very first Ravio and his past life. The more Ravio considered this idea… the more eager he suddenly became. 

Every step and he saw a flash of the past as he felt the sword pulsing. He was barely even asking Linkle for her compass’s help anymore as he wandered closer and closer. He could feel the sword’s power even from where they wandered in the catacombs. Becoming to him, chiming for him to approach her. Whispering a simple idea inside his head: the idea that the state of Lorule had never been the fault of the Hero who had tried so hard over and over to save it. It just seemed like it.

The Hero of Merchants. Forger of the Merchant’s blade. A young merchant who took up smithing and sold his weaponry across Hyrule in the time of the War of Malice. He was given the task by the golden goddesses to make a weapon that could kill Malice. And with Lilda’s blessing and her tempering of the weapon, it became the blade of evil’s bane, and she took it up in a charge against Malice… but the weapon had not been enough. So Ravio himself took the blade and gaved what little courage and skill he possessed and plunged it into the demon, at the cost of his life and a curse to his spirit.

The Hero of Heavens. Born to the sky, where his beloved was taken by darkness. Desperate to save his fiancee Hilda, the young weapons merchant went to the surface and freed her quickly, but in the action he was captured. The demon lord who caught him recognized that his spirit was incapable of dying, and he was offered to Malice in Hilda’s place. The demon king returned, but only half as strong as he would’ve been had Hilda had been killed for his resurrection. The people of the Heavens were forced to come down and kill him, and once he realized the Triforce was gone, he destroyed the City of Heavens and stranded the Lorulens on the surface. 

The Hero of Mimish. When Malice influenced a young Picori into attacking Lorule and raising Yuga, this young merchant was accused of being behind the kidnappings of the Princess and Maidens of Lorule when his own shadow framed him. He never got the chance to save her, and was hung by his own people. Not too long later, Venti and Malice took full control over Lorule many centuries before the light force they stole from the princess diminished and the Princess’s ancestors rose and killed them.

The Hero of Days. Sent to the forest as a young boy by his mother after a great civil war, the young hero grew up oblivious to his destiny. He was thrust into a terrible surprise when the Gerudo King Yuga invaded the forest in attempts to gain land and resources he could use against the King of Lorule. The children of the forest were caught, and fed one by one to Yuga’ growing army of monsters. Hilda learned of the terrible acts being committed in the forest, and sent her Sheikah guard, Ample, to free who remained. The guard was caught, and promptly killed, but not before giving Ravio an certain Ocarina, which he used to try and save his siblings by turning back time and warning them. He tried three thousand, seven hundred, and twenty six times to save them, watching them all perish every time, before finally giving up and offering himself and the instrument freely to Yuga. Yuga had the young Hero be eaten alive by Arachnid, the mother of spiders that had killed the Great Arcadia Tree and turned the Woods into Skull Woods. Yuga then used the instrument to conquer Lorule once more. He tried to go back and bring the Triforce back, but found he could not. Eventually, Hilda and the sages managed to rise and stop him. 

Then there was him, the Hero of Worlds. The fifth Hero of Lorule and the only one who had survived. 

He had survived because of Mr. Hero… because of his Link.

And as he felt the sword urging him forwards and filling him with confidence, he suddenly seemed to know he could not let that gift of life go to waste by cowering and waiting for Link, no matter which one, to simply make everything better. 

“Ravio, wait.” Linkle cried out and Ravio stopped, realizing he was now staring at a dead end. He could really feel the sword close by now.

“...I don’t understand, the compass leads us here.” Linkle said in confusion, flicking at the glass covering on the compass and tilting it from left to right. Ravio frowned, placing a hand on the wall, only for it to pass clean through.

“Shadow magic.” He informed them, “We’ve made it.” Without hesitation, Ravio stepped inside. The catacombs gave way to a spectacular sight, a circular room built from marble in with ancient Lorulen tongue scrawled across the walls. A painting of the Hero of Merchants was depicted in a large mural on the far wall. In the center of the room was a pedestal. In the pedestal was a sword. The most amazing sword he’d ever laid his eyes on. 

It looked like the master sword, but the winged guard was upside down and it was deep rupee green, matching Ravio’s eyes exactly. It’s metal was a shimmering white, glowing with divine and evil cleansing power. Etched in the metal was the upside down triforce of Lorule. The gemstone on the blade was purple, like the tunic Ravio wore.

“The Goddess Sword.” He breathed. Ravio strode towards it, and noted the inscription written in ancient Lorulen on the arch above it.

“In the words of Ravio, Hero of Merchants.” Ravio read out loud, “The world can never change if we allow fear to hinder us. To be truly brave is to stand against wickedness and death even when our hands are trembling.” Ravio stared up at the inscription for a good moment, and suddenly he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do this anymore. He didn’t feel worthy. He ran away while the others had faced their deaths. He tricked others into doing his work while the others had tried so hard despite their fear, fear he knew all too well, to save Lorule. 

“Ravio.” Ravio looked over at Linkle, who offered him an encouraging smile, “You can do this.” 

“Yeah, you’re gonna be an awesome Hero.” Groose agreed.

“Yeah, trust me, this sword will help a lot.” Aura encouraged.

“We’re all behind you!” Marin reminded him.

“Chirp! Chirp!” Sheerow agreed in confusion, causing Ravio to snort a little. He approached the sword, shaking a little from the nerves as he pulled his hood down and reached out for the daunting weapon. His trembling hands gripped the hilt and he already felt it’s abundant light magic seeping into him, giving him strength. 

‘To be truly brave is to stand against wickedness and death even when our hands are trembling.’ Ravio began to pull up, and it came free with no fight, as if it was asking him, ‘what took you so long, Master Ravio?’ He pulled it free and for the first time ever, a sword didn’t feel awkward or clumsy in his hands. Out of instinct, he held it skyward, letting it’s light fill the room.

‘It’s hard to be the Hero.’ Ravio had once said, ‘It’s hard to be brave.’ And in that moment he knew more than ever how true those statements were… but for once in his life, Ravio felt like he could do it.


	34. Crushed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, with the Hero's Shadow...

Link’s magic was spent and he was now hiding in the kitchen of the palace with a very annoyed Queen Hilda (Who he kinda sorta kidnapped in an attempt to really rile up the guards) glaring daggers at him. He himself was glaring at his sword.

“Really, Ghiraham? That’s all the magic we’ve got between the both of us? I mean, I know it’s midday, but I had hoped it was dark enough on a constant basis in this world for that to not really matter!” Link huffed in aggravation. The sword gave no response, and Link just rolled his eyes and turned to Hilda.

“Sorry about all this, your highness, I wasn’t intending for you to get involved. I’m just relatively annoyed with your knights right now. You need better ones. No offense.” She let out a small ‘mphm!’ at him and he blinked.

“Huh?” He asked. She made the sound again.

“Oh, right!” He snapped his fingers and she could talk again.  
She took a deep breath before resuming her glaring.

“I said, why in Lilda’s name are you here? How the heck are you? Why did you just kill my captain and several of my knights, kidnap me and tie me up, and are now cowering in the royal kitchen while you yell at a sword?” She snapped. 

“Um, there is no way you said all that while you were gagged.” Link deadpanned.

“I can have you killed for this!”

“Hey, you were gonna hang that guy for trying to kill Ravio anyways. I did you a favor. Also, I didn’t mean to kidnap you, that just kinda happened. And if you must know… my name is Link.” Link drawled. Instantly all of Hilda’s anger vanished, if only for a moment as she seemed to recognize Link’s name. Then it returned right back as she recognized that he was not the Link she knew. 

“Liar.” She seethed. 

“I’m not lying, I’m just-” Link started before he heard a loud bang as the kitchen doors swung open. Instantly he grabbed Hilda, holding his hand firmly over her mouth as he tried to make the two of them smaller in their hiding place among the barrels. She yelled into his hand and he flinched as the barrels were pulled away, revealing a bunch of angry looking guards. Instantly, he was jerked out of the hiding spot and restrained while the other guards untied the Queen.

“Are you okay, your highness? Did the demon hurt you?”

“Um, not a demon. I’m a shadow. There’s a difference.” Link said with an eye roll, “Also, no. I didn’t. Surprised you people care with how much you grumble about this lady and how you just told her you want her brother dead out loud and then went against her direct orders in attempts to execute him. But sure, get angry at the shadow guy.” The guard who had asked the question spun to face him with a furious expression on his face.

“You just killed twenty men!”

“Only that?” Link asked, tilting his head, “Well, it was in self defense. I was to be beheaded when I committed no crimes against this nation… Though the same can’t be said about Hyrule… but I’m sure Princess Zelda will pardon me. After all, I helped the Hero kill a Wind Mage.”

“Sir, there’s something wrong with his sword.” A guard reported, motioning to the blade that they’d left untouched on the ground where Link had been hiding. 

“It keeps electrocuting anyone who touches it.” 

“Um yeah. It’s magic sword with a spirit inside of it. Those kinds only let those who it recognizes as it’s master use it. And it only lets those that it’s master trusts to touch it. Kinda like the Goddess Sword, only the Goddess Sword hurts everyone but her master.” Hilda frowned down at him.

“Who told you of the Goddess Sword? Why do you claim to know Zelda and be named Link? How do you know of Hyrule?” 

“I’m from Hyrule.” Link explained, “I’m from a Hyrule that existed several centuries ago.” Hilda frowned, looking a little disturbed as she examined him.

“Are you an incarnation of the Hero of Hyrule?” She asked. Link shook his head.

“I’m his shadow.” Link replied, “And the brother of Link, the Hero of Men. Hyrule’s timeline is in disarray right now and the Heroes from all of it’s eras have been pulled from their respective time periods and are now lost in time. I’m on a quest to fix that.” Hilda pinched the bridge of her nose.

“And how, shadow, exactly does breaking into my palace disguised as my brother, killing my men, regardless of their incompetence and lack of loyalty, and kidnapping me help you with such a quest?”

“I can’t tell you that.” Link replied immediately. 

“Why not? Do you not know that I will have you killed if you cannot come up with a reasonable explanation for all of this?” Hilda asked.

“The same reason you sent your brother away.” Link replied. Hilda’s eyes softened, and she knew what he was implying. He knew she understood that Ravio was near and he was doing this to protect him. 

“What shall we do with this monster, your highness?” 

“Lock him in the dungeon. I will personally place wards in his cell to keep him from using magic again.” Hilda decided. 

“But his recent crime of murdering twenty usually is punished by swift execution. And the sentence for using shadow magic without distinct approval from the council of Lorule is for the offender to be-”

“Burned at the stake.” Hilda finished, “I am well aware. But I am also the Queen, and therefore, my word is final. Kill this boy, and I will personally ensure you receive the punishments he should’ve faced. He will spend his days in prison for this until I decide he can leave or until he dies of old age… that is if shadows are even capable of aging. Now, as for the crime of treason against the crown, which most of you committed when you conspired and attempted to kill my brother today-”

“But it wasn't even him! It was this shadow’s trick!” Many began to object.

“You still all intended to kill Ravio, even if you found that Ravio was not here. Hence, the conspired part of my sentence, commander.” Hilda bit out, “And typically for such a crime, you are to be hung. Sadly, seeing as the entirety of my guard has been on this plot, I find that I would be wrong in attempting such a thing. The shadow is correct. Your captain would've been killed either way and his death today will not be held against the boy, nor will the deaths of the nineteen that died for helping him. This shadow here is only being held for using illegal magic and these deaths will be recorded as executions for treason against the crown. For the rest of you, I will grant mercy. But should any man go against my direct order again, then I will not be so kind.” 

“But-” 

“Do you intend to test my kindness now, commander?” Hilda growled. The man shut up. Link felt that was a wise choice. 

“Take him to the dungeons, I will accompany you in order you place the wards so he cannot leave.” Hilda ordered.

“Um, okay, while you guys do that… Hilda could you possibly get my sword? I’ll let you hold it because I don’t think we should really leave it lying in this kitchen.” 

“It could be cursed, my Queen I wouldn’t-” The commander objected.

“Eh, it kinda is, but won’t curse her.” Link shrugged. That earned him a glare. Hilda huffed, retrieving the weapon and Link’s sheath, slinging both over her shoulder. She then directed them out of the kitchen area and began marching them down the halls of the palace and towards where Link suspected the dungeon would be located. Many of the guards had resumed their duties, and Link secretly hoped that Ravio had taken the time that he’d been distracting them all to get the sword and get himself out of there. 

Then it occurred to Link that he had just been arrested and that he couldn’t exactly bust himself out of prison if the Queen herself put wards in his cell. This… this could be problematic. He really didn’t want the others to have to double back for him once they realized he had not made it back to the rendezvous point. Especially since he was fairly certain these guys still very much wanted Ravio dead and doubling back could place him in grave danger. Maybe once the guards were gone he could explain things to Hilda and she’d let him go?

Well, he’d have to hope that she’d spring for that option, because he did not want the others to come back for him. It simply wasn’t safe. 

Link couldn’t help but absent-mindlessly jerking helplessly at the chains they’d secured on his wrists, testing his inhuman strength against their durability. They were well made, which was annoying. Clearly they learned their lesson after he threw, like, four grown men off of him dispute being four foot four before proceeding to cause mass chaos in the dinning hall, ‘accidentally’ killing a couple guys who stupidly tried to kill him first, grabbing Hilda, and hightailing it. 

They stopped walking very suddenly, and Link jerked his head up to see what the problem was before his eyes widened in horror at the figure now blocking the guard's path. They drew their swords and Hilda tightened her grip on that staff of hers. Link instantly flinched back in fear, instinctively trying to get away, but held in place firmly by the guards.

That stupid lizard had found him.

Of course Lizzy had. He hadn’t exactly been subtle about his little distraction.

The dark lizard’s mouth curled into a beastly smile upon spying Link, who was restrained and completely out of magic. The perfect prey for a power crazed, time-traveling dark. Link frantically searched inside himself for more magic to muster up and now regretted not striking the palace at night. They’d only gone during the day because they thought it be a little weird to bring a cart full of hay into the palace at midnight. Now he wished he had sacrificed subtly for convenience. That probably would’ve been smarter. 

“There you are, little shadow.” It purred. It began stalking towards Link, and the guards attacked. One swipe of his tail, and they were knocked aside. The ones holding him freaked out, letting him go and backing up. Hey drew their blades and stood next to Hilda, as if to protect her. The dark grasped Link’s shirt, pulling him to his toes.

“Let me go!” Link immediately spat out, twisting himself in the monster’s grip. 

“Do you know, shadow, just how annoying it is to try and keep nine Heroes busy, while also raising and infecting armies all across time, when I could just have finished this a long while ago by you cooperating like a good little servant of Ganon?” Lizzy snarled.

“Glad I’m annoying to you.” Link retorted, “Now let go of you or I swear I’ll-” 

“You’ll do what?” Lizzy questioned, “Kill me? You already tried that, and it won’t work.” Link fell silent and scowled.

“Now, if there are no further objections, I’ll be completing the ritual now.” Lizzy informed him. He was really feeling for shadow magic now. He was desperately searching within himself for anything, anything at all that he could use. With his free claw, the lizard summoned a small, dark triangle thing. The torches in the hall instantly shifted to purple and Link felt his very essence being latched onto.

“Release him!” He heard Hilda shout. The lizard stopped, grunting in annoyance. Hilda’s staff was now ablaze with magic. The lizard used the claw holding Link to jerk him to the side and raised his other, now directing the dark magic towards her.

“Hilda, look out!” Link gasped. Time seemed to slow as darkness shot towards her, and she herself barely registered it’s path as she tried to move out of the way. He squeezed his eyes shut, looking away. There was a loud, clang! And gasps that flew from the lips of the guards surrounding them. He felt the lizard stagger back in confusion, and Link dared to open his eyes. 

Hilda was completely fine. 

Someone wielding a shield had saved her, blocking the magical strike with no effort at all. 

That someone was a man dressed in a purple tunic with a bunny hood resting on his hair and a glowing sword in one hand and a shield on his other. A trademarked hammer was strapped to his back and a weird bird creature fluttered next to his shoulder. His normally cheerful demeanor was gone, and his green eyes danced with a certain righteous rage that he’d only ever seen in the eyes of the Heroes of Hyrule. 

“Ravio?” Hilda said in confusion. Ravio smiled cheerfully upon hearing her, but kept his eyes trained on the lizard.   
Link looked around, noticing Linkle stepping out of another hall with Rapheo at her feet, compass in one hand and a crossbow leveled at the monster in another. Marin was on the right with Groose, unarmed, but ready to sing at a moments notice while Goose acted as her guard. Aura was behind them, sword and shield at ready, eyes examining Link questionably as if to ask ‘We left you alone for only a few hours, how are you already in this much trouble, Mr. Link?’ He shrugged helplessly. Honestly, it was a real head scratchier.

“I’d let our friend go, if I were you.” Linkle suggested. 

“Little pests.” The lizard hissed, “I’ll rip you to shreds and then finish the task I came to this world and era to complete.” Linkle’s compass flashed dangerously at this remark. It made Link’s skin tingle, they way the dimmed sun of Lorule seemed to do. The lizard didn’t seem to like that. He threw Link behind and lunged at her first. Quickly, Linkle rolled out of the way, shooting off a few shots into the monster as her cucco let out a cry of rage, pecking furiously at the monster’s feet. 

Aura caught Link and pulling him back before using a good, arched swing from her sword to brake the chains holding his wrists together. Marin began to sing a really random song about fairies in the winter time, allowing Light Magic to spike in the air and making the lizard’s movements more sluggish. Ravio advanced with his sword and the Lizard suddenly realized who was the greater threat. Not the expertly trained archer with the Light Magic compass, but the purple clad Hero who had been Lizzy’s prisoner only a few days before.

Ravio slashed down onto it, and Lizzy cried out in pain as dark, black blood sprang from the place on it’s back that Ravio had struck. It spun to face him, really mad now. Ravio gasped, fear flickering across his features as bad habits kicked in. He briefly forgot his footwork, and stumbled back into Hilda. 

“Foolish Hero! You’ll die for that!” It roared. Lizzy pounced, and in a flash, Hilda pushed Ravio aside, ripping the sword from his hands and plunging it into the lizard’s gut. Lizzy howled, staggering back and clutching the wound. 

“I’ll be back, shadow. Don’t think because you have that sword now that this war is now won. This is far from over. You wish to kill me? Fine. Then lets make sure it’s not so easy.” The dark snapped, before forgetting Ravio and Hilda and spinning back towards Linkle. Linkle raised her compass again, for it was her best ward against his immense dark magic. He anticipated this. Slashing it to the side and raking his claws into her. She cried out, crumbling. Ravio let out a strangled shout of rage and he suddenly seemed filled with courage. He forget he needed the sword to hurt it and sliding the hammer into his hands as he attacked, Aura, and Groose right along with him. Lizzy moved, grabbing at the compass, despite it burning him, and tightening his grasp around it, crushing a horrifying crunch. 

“Try to find me now.” He mocked, before dropping the ruined instrument and vanishing into darkness. Ravio didn’t even hesitate to drop his hammer upon the dark leaving and rush to Linkle, who held her wounds tightly and was staring with tears in her eyes at the ruined compass. Ravio produced a potion, forcing her to drink it immediately while everyone else regarded the navigation device that had gotten them this far with stunned silence. 

“...I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever that thing was… you need to stop it.” Hilda said quickly, “Ravio, you need not to explain, but you need to get out of here, now. They still wish you dead.” Ravio jerked his head towards Hilda, looking ready to object.   
She just threw the sword back to him before throwing Link’s sword over towards the shadow.

“Leave now. All of you!” She ordered, her voice urgent. 

“I’m out of magic…” Link muttered, “I can’t-”

“I’ll lend you some of mine.” Hilda insisted, “Now leave!” Groose ran to Linkle, scooping her up with Ravio snatched up the broken compass and tucked it away. Marin switched songs, and Link quickly drew magic out of Hilda to summon a portal. And together, no longer certain if they would end up in a place they were supposed to go, the six would be heroes plunged into the unknown.


	35. All Too Familiar.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their loss in Lorule, they are they find a young girl cornered by monsters.

They all stumbled out of the the portal into a small, forested area that was covered with deku trees. It was very clearly in the middle of the day there, but it was shady enough in the forest that Mr. Link didn’t immediately retreat into one of their shadows. They had no time to even try and figure out which forest they had just stumbled into or even orientate themselves and check on Linkle’s injuries when a scream cut through the air life a dagger. 

“Watch Linkle!” Mr. Link told Groose before drawing Demise’s blade and running in the direction they had heard the cry come from. Aura and Ravio followed after him, Aura armed with a sword and shield and Ravio with his hammer instead of the Goddess Sword. Marin kept her distance, by went a close a she dared to them as they approached a small clearing in the tiny forest. Mr. Link was forced to stop just shy of the treeline, because there was too much sun for him to get closer. Aura continued forwards alone as Ravio himself had to stop, staring wide eyes at the many monsters in that little clearing. 

Aura did not hesitate like Ravio did, tearing through the monsters like they were nothing and causing Aura to realize that these ones, oddly enough, were not infected at all. That was a first, considering. In no time at all, Aura was kneeling over the tiny girl that had let out the cry, offering the girl her hand. The girl didn’t take it, instead, opting to throw her arms around Aura and hug her.

“Oh! Thank you miss! That was really, really scary!” The girl proclaimed. Aura kinda sat there, stunned and not sure what to do about the girl that was hugging her. 

“Where are your parents, little one?” Ravio asked, “Why are you in this forest all alone?” The girl pulled from Aura, regarding Ravio with awe.

“Woah, you’re dressed as a bunny. That’s awesome. Why are you dressed as a bunny?” She asked in confusion. Ravio seemed taken aback by the question, causing Mr. Link to chuckle. Now that the girl was standing fully, she could see she was exactly Mr. Link’s height and around twelve, though she still carried a child-like innocence to her. She had golden hair, tied back into pigtails, and a pink dress decorated with a white skull pattern. A telescope hung on a cord around her waist and she wore tiny sandals that were not good for travelling large distances at all, making Marin realize that her village probably wasn’t too far away. 

“Uh, well, a bunny is my Dark World form.” Ravio admitted, causing Mr. Link to arch an eyebrow at him.

“Wait, seriously? How’d you figure that out? That’s why you dress like a bunny?” Mr. Link questioned. Ravio just shrugged helplessly. Ravio didn’t get a chance to expand.

“Well, Mr. Rabbit! I’m Aryll!” She said cheerfully, “You’re not from Outset, are you? Where’d you all come from? Did you sail here?” Marin’s stomach knotted at those words and suddenly she became hyper aware of the hot, humid, and salty air of the forest they were in. The taste of the ocean, regardless of Marin not seeing water in sight. 

“Are… Are we on an island?” Marin managed to get out. The little girl gave Marin a strange look before nodding.

“Um, yeah. Outset Island! This is the woods were the Great Fairy lives. I was visiting her when suddenly those monster just showed up and I didn’t have a sword or nothing to protect myself. My big brother is always scolding me for that. He says I shouldn’t come up here alone, and if I do, I should bring a sword, but the fairy is so nice to me and monsters haven’t been on this island since Ganon died, so I didn’t think that-” 

“Your brother.” Mr. Link cut off, “What’s his name?” The girl paused, looking at his more startling appearance with wide eyes.

“Um, his name is Link, why?” She asked. 

“My name is Link too.” Mr. Link quickly offered, “But everyone here just calls me Mr. Link to avoid confusion. We’re friends of your brother’s. Tell me, is he away on a trip right now? Or is he on the island?” 

“Oh, no. He was here with all of these big swordsmen guys a few days ago.” Ayrll provided before giggling, “They all had funny names and the one with pink hair didn’t seem to like it here very much. He left a couple months or so ago with Tetra on this big trip to this new country they discovered, but then a Rito gave us this letter that said he just vanished!” She paused, holding her arms out for dramatic effect, “And then he showed up here again with all of his fun friends and grandma made her soup because big brother was apparently bragging about it again. Then he simply vanished again! He said he’d come back though, so it’s okay… say! You look like that one swordsman guy who was as tall as I was… what was his name again? I dunno… and you! You look just like the pink haired one that didn’t like the ocean!” 

“Hero of Winds.” Ravio concluded, “He’s a sailor and lives in a Hyrule that was flooded so much that people had to flee to the mountain tops and make homes on the islands they formed.”

“So this entire place is covered in water?” Mr. Link asked, arching an eyebrow. Ravio nodded in confirmation. Marin was now internally freaking out. She forced herself to breathe steady, but that nagging fear of the ocean and ship wrecking again only to wake up in another dream bubbled inside of her dangerously. A Hyrule that was only ocean? This did not bode well. 

“Well, Miss. Aryll, is there a local doctor nearby. A friend of ours was hurt and we need more medicine… say, where is this fairy you mentioned?” Ravio asked.

“Oh! In the big cave over there!” Ayrll said quickly, “But hey! If you’re really my big brother’s friends, you should come stay with grandma and I tonight! We love company and meeting new people!” 

“We’d like that.” Mr. Link concluded, there was a certain wariness in his expression that they all seemed to feel. What had just happened in Lorule had taken a serious toll on them all, not just poor Linkle. They needed to recover. Rest and recollect themselves. Get more training for Ravio and Marin in and make sure Linkle was okay before they tried to figure out what the heck they were going to do about the now broken compass. Normally, an island would’ve been the perfect place to rest, recover, and collect themselves, but for Marin, it was just making her heart hammer with fear. 

“I’ll go take Mr. Groose and Miss. Hero to the fairy.” Ravio volunteered, “Would you help Mr. Link down to this girl’s residence, Miss. Marin? It is day and I do not think he can get there on his own.” Marin swallowed hard and shook her head in agreement. 

“R-right. Um, Aryll… would you like to see Mr. Link do a fun magic trick? He’s gonna disappear and reappear later.” Marin asked. Aryll nodded eagerly and Marin couldn’t help but wonder how a sister of the Hero could be so sweet and innocent, expecially after having met the spiteful Aura and the enthusiastic but definitely war hardened Linkle. Mr. Link laughed a little at her curiosity, before melting entirely into Marin’s shadow. Ayrll breath in awe, clearly baffled by the trick. 

“I’ll go with them an make sure nothing else attacks.” Aura decided, sheathing her weapon and walking to stand next Marin, “I’ll come find you three once Mr. Link is back inside and Linkle is better. I’ll show you back to were this grandmother lady lives.” 

“Excellent.” Ravio decided, “See you four in a short while.” With this, Ravio scrambled off to find Groose and Linkle. As he darted off, Aura arched an eyebrow at him.

“You see it too, right?”

“What, the sudden confidence boost or the fact that he freaked out and tried to kill the dark with only a hammer even though he knew that wasn’t going to work after he saw it hurt Linkle?” Marin asked, “Because, if so… Yes. I see it too.”

“...Good. I swear I thought I was losing it.”

“Well, they are old war buddies.” Marin pointed out.

“Linkle, yeah, I can see that. Ravio? There is no way that man’s been in a war and nothing can make me say otherwise.” Aura decided, “Nothing except for him having a really, really good excuse to actually brave out a war.” 

“Ehem!” The two looked over, noticing an impatient Ayrll, who had folded her arms and was tapping her elbows impatiently, as if to say, ‘Hey, weren’t you girls going to follow me?’ Both Marin and Aura exchanged exasperated looks before following the young girl out of the forest. They came out and discovered that the forest was located at the very top of a mountain on a little island. A drawbridge that didn’t look to stable was the only thing connecting the forest to the rest of the island. When Marin realized just how big the island actually was, which wasn’t big at all, exotically compared to Koholint, she began to breath heavy and her chest tightened as she gripped the railing of the draw bridge. 

Aura stopped walking across after Ayrll, looking back at Marin with deep concern in her expression.

“Miss. Marin?” She asked. Aryll stopped herself.

“Are you afraid of heights?” Ayrll asked. Marin didn’t respond, she just stared down at the swirling salt water beneath her feet and the sandy shores of the island’s beach and tried so very hard to steady her breathing, but it wasn’t really working. On the island she saw children out and about, playing. Little islander houses that reminded her of the ones in Mabe Village were scattered about. The humid, salty air was thick, and hard to breathe in. 

Marin only jerked her head away from the far too familiar view when a smaller hand wrapped around hers,carefully pulling it from it’s death grip on the bridge’s rail. 

“Hey, hey.” Aryll said carefully, “It’s okay, lady. We’ll get you down from here. It’s okay… just breathe… breathe… listen, it’s okay. I’ve got you lady. Come on, that’s it. Everything’s going to be fine.” Her voice was reassuring and her hand felt so real in hers… but then again, so had Link’s, and they’d both been dreaming.

“Is… Is this a real island?” She managed.

“Of course it’s real, silly!” Aryll said with a small giggle, “Come on, lets get you off of this thing. You shouldn’t stand there too long, it’s not safe.” Marin didn’t even notice as she was brought off the bridge and Aryll continued to speak to her gently, rubbing her back and trying to calm her down. 

“Hey, hey! It’s okay, lady. It’s fine.”

“You are real?” Marin insisted, “The island is real?” 

“Yeah.” Aryll said cheerfully, “I grew up here, of course it’s real.” 

“H-have you ever left?” Marin stammered. Ayrll’s comforting gestures faltered as a dark look that did not match her cheerful and almost innocent personality at all flashed across her face.

“Once.” Aryll said simply, “Two years ago, when I was ten.”

“Do you remember the world outside this island? Or does it all feel like a dream?” Marin insisted. Aryll heaved a heavy sigh, before responding.

“Lady, I will never forget what happened to me two years ago. Never.” Aryll insisted. The way she said it? It made Marin so certain she spoke truly. It calmed her down, if only a little. She took a steadying breath and recollected herself.

This wasn’t Koholint. This wasn’t some deity’s dream. This was real. This was real. This island was real.

There.

She felt a little better now, if not slightly embarrassed.

“S-sorry…” Marin stammered.

“You’re fine.” Aryll promised, “The pink haired guy from the other day reacted pretty much the same way… do you two know each other? Did something bad happen to you two? I can help! I’m a good listener! Just ask my big brother!” 

“....It… It’s nothing… Just a dream, that’s all.”

“Oh, a nightmare?” Aryll asked in sympathy. Marin shook her head.

“N-no. It’s wasn’t exactly a bad dream…” Marin said softly, “But it was a dream… and I think that was enough to make it sad.” 

“Oh… I get those sometimes… when I miss my brother.” Aryll said, “You miss the pink haired boy? Is that why you’re scared of the island? Because islands are special to you and it makes you sad?” 

“...I suppose so.” Marin agree softly.


	36. The Thing They Fear.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linkle is not in a good mood.

Linkle clenched her grip tightly around the glass cup filled with tea that the old woman had given her. Now that she was healed and not completely in shock over what had happened in Lorule, she was outright furious. How dare that good for nothing Lizard destroy the family heirloom that her grandma had intrusted her with? How dare he!? If she wasn’t looking to kill something before, she certianly was in the mood for it now. That stupid dark would rue the day he ever messed with Linkle, Hero of Travels.

“Wow. I’ve never seen anyone look that intent on murdering a cup of tea.” Linkle looked up and over her shoulder, glaring at theyoung shadow who was leering over her shoulder with a look of disinterest on his face.

“Mr. Link, I’m not entirely in the mood right now.”

“Yeah well, I can’t go outside and I’m avoiding Aryll… who says I need fresh air, so you’re gonna have ta stay here and sulk while I annoy you or go outside and sulk there, but risk Aryll trying to cheer you up. Honestly, I’d spring for the second. I swear she’s a mini you, but way nicer and a lot more naive… not that I think that’s a bad think. Just different considering the two Hero sisters I do know are battle hardened and are terrifying as heck. And I’m assuming the Hero of Legend’s sister is no exception to the troupe.” Mr. Link insisted, “Though if you really need cheering up, Groose and Aura are trying to teach Ravio to fight again while Aryll distracts Marin from… whatever you call an irrational fear of waking up on a dream island. Watching Ravio try to use a sword while Aura gets annoyed to the point of breaking things and Groose looks ready to throw hands is bound to cheer anyone up!” 

“I’ll pass.” Linkle grunted. Mr. Link frowned, suddenly appearing directly in front of her with an arched eyebrow.

“Look, Hero girl, I’m sorry about you’re grandma’s compass.” He offered, “It was techincally my fault. I spent too much magic, let those idoit knight catch me, and basically let that Lizard get it’s claws on me, though briefly. If I had been more careful-”

“No.” Link said, scowling ever deeper as she looked up from her tea and studied the pictographs of the Hero of Winds and his family on the walls of the house, “I’m not mad at you. There’s no way you could’ve gotten out of that situation alone. I was happy to help… But that compass…” Linkle’s eyes settled on the image of the Hero of Winds and Aryll as tiny children, sitting on their grandmother’s lap and beaming up at the one taking the pictograph. It was so much like a scene from when she and her brother were little kids. 

“...It was a gift from my grandma. A treasured family heirloom. It was irreplaceable, not to mention it was our only guide through time.” Linkle admitted, “It was a reminder of home as well as a way for me to move forward and find my own path. Be my own version of the Hero. And now it’s gone.” 

“We kept the pieces. Maybe we can fix it?” Mr. Link suggested. Linkle set the tea cup down, sagging in her seat as she leaned back and stared up at the ceiling in compilation.

“I mean, maybe. But do we really want to be following a broken or faulty compass across time? What if we can’t fix it right? What if it starts leading us the wrong way and we never finish our quest and I never see Link again?” Linkle asked, before squeezing her eyes shut, “He’s my twin brother, Mr. Link. We’re supposed to be able to always find each other. Always be there for each other… yet everytime I try to reach him… ever since the war started… I’ve never even been close enough to even reach out and hug him.” She swallowed hard, not daring to cry in front of Mr. Link.

“Grandma always told us that one of us was going to be the Hero. And we believed her… goddesses, Mr. Link, why did we believe her? Why’d it have to be him? Why’d it have to take him away? Why did he have to leave me behind because I wasn’t the real Hero? I don’t care what mom and dad told me! I could’ve been a knight like him! I could’ve fought beside him! The Hero and his sister! And unstoppable force! But… after he left… after the war started… all I seemed to be was a crazy girl who had a stupid dream and couldn’t even keep up with her brother because she couldn’t help but get lost because of a dumb magic compass.” Mr. Link was very quiet after that. She waited a few moments before peeling her eyes open and looking down at the boy who was now sitting in the chair across from her, looking as conflicted as she felt. 

“You probably think I’m nuts too.” Linkle grumbled, “For crying over a dumb compass.” Mr. Link arched an eyebrow at her.

“I’d be pretty ticked off if I were you, actually.” Mr. Link admitted. His claw-like nails finger the dark edges of his tunic. Seemingly soothing the darkness itself in the action as he swallowed hard and looked towards the window, which was spilling some daylight in. He got a rather sad look in his eyes for a small instant. 

“Linkle, how often do people look back at their shadows?” Mr. Link asked softly. Linkle found the question a bit odd, and she wasn’t sure what it had to do with the compass being broken at all. However the broken look in the shadow’s eyes told Linkle he was trying to by empathetic. 

“I never really thought about-” Linkle started.

“I know. Most Hylians don’t. Most Hylians don’t have to deal with their shadows being alive. Being able to see every single time their shadow was left to follow behind them.” Mr. Link admitted. She fell mute, letting him continue with this seemingly random ramble. 

“When Link… when my brothers and I first met… I was their enemy.” Mr. Link said quickly, “Vaati and Ganon drew me from shadow magic and from Link’s shadow, and I could remember a lifetime of following behind a Hero and being nothing but a forgotten shadow. Vaati encouraged me to use this… feeling of being nothing but a shadow of a Hero to justify terrible, terrible deeds. You must have guessed by now, Hero girl, I used to be a pretty bad person.” 

“Where is this going?” Linkle asked in confusion. He offered her a deadpanned glare, as if to say ‘listen, and I’ll get there.’ She settled back into an aggravated, but attentive silence.

“The truth is, Linkle… The only time the Hero called me his brother was in my last moments.” Mr. Link said, “Becuase up until I broke that mirror… to them I was nothing but the enemy.” He stopped soothing the darkness in his tunic, clasping his fingers together and leaning forwards, his red eyes locking with hers, “And Linkle, I am terrified.” She paused, her anger briefly giving way to confusion, until settling into a need to understand. 

“Of what? I know that was a close call in Lorule but the others protected you even when I..” She trailed off, her mind wandering to that moment where she failed to anticipate him. Where he destroyed the heirloom she loved so dearly. She swallowed, “But we’ll keep you safe.” Mr. Link just scoffed at the promise, confusing her further.

“I’m not afraid to die, Linkle.” Mr. Link said firmly, “I’ve done it before and I’ll likely do it again very soon if this prophecy is accurate. I just don’t want to die hurting them. That’s not what scares me… I’m afraid, like you, that I’ll never see my brothers again… But… I’m even more terrified that I will.” 

“But why would you be scared of that?” Linkle asked, “He loves you. Why would you-”

“I don’t know if they do.” Mr. Link cut in sharply before his voice went soft, “Linkle, I have no idea if the love me and actually meant it when they said they were my brothers… or if they hate me because of all of those bad things I did because I thought I as a shadow was justified to commit those crimes. I just don’t know. Will they receive me with open arms? Or will they reject me for being a monster who ruined their lives?” This left Linkle silent, and he used this silence to continue on.

“And I’m not the only one in this group, Linkle. You haven’t noticed, but Aura? She envies you. Groose mentioned how she got really closed off in Ordon when you mentioned how close you and the Hero of War are. She never got to be close to the Hero of Wild. And when she finds him again, Linkle, he’s not going to know who she is, and that’s scary. Knowing that the person you love may not love you back. And Marin? Marin is so scared that when she finds the Hero of Legend again, she’ll wake up and he’ll be just another dream. That we’ll all be a dream.” He shook his head, “You have no idea how lucky you are Linkle. No idea. But also, how much harder this probably is for you because you are so close to the Hero. Little Aryll out there? She watches from her tower every day, her grandma told me. Every day just waiting for her big brother to come home. Always knowing there’s going to be that one day she’ll learn that he isn’t going to come home at all. I think you know that feeling better than I do. You, Ravs, and Groose.” Linkle felt a mixture of shame and guilt in her gut for not noticing these things he was pointing out sooner and instead opting to sulk over a compass when her teammates needed her to be strong. However, she also felt a pang of sadness and longing. She so badly wanted to find Link. To make sure he was safe and by her side again, just like when they were kids.

“But that’s why we’re doing this quest, isn’t it?” Mr. Link muttered, “So people like you Aryll, Ravio, and Groose know that your Link will come home. Come home safe and alive. So that people like Marin, Aura, and myself can finally have closure and maybe, just maybe, even if it will be hard, have a chance to finally start over again.”   
He finally stood back to his feet, lifting his chin and looking at Linkle with a bit of determination. 

“I know what the compass meant to you. I know it’s priceless to you.” Mr. Link continued, “But now that it’s broken, we have to try and fix it, or we have to keep going and pray we find a way to make sure our Heroes can come home. Make sure we get to see them again. It’s not silly to cry over a compass, but it is silly to let a broken compass keep us from doing what we set out to do. There’s too much at risk. Too many things left to fight for to give up now.” Linkle, though trembling now, nodded, because of course, he wasn’t wrong. 

“So what do you think we need to do next then?” Linkle asked. He swallowed hard.

“For now?” Mr. Link asked, “Rest. It’s been a rough few days. And you should probably talk to Aura. Like I said, she’s kinda a little green eyed about the Hero’s sister thing you have going with the Hero of War. Probably should straighten that out sooner than later. If nothing blows up or comes up in this era in the next few days, we’ll try to come up with a new plan on the timeline jumping and navigating it. Linkle nodded, before rising to her feet herself.

“Okay then.” Linkle said firmly. She left him behind and alone in the house, walking out to where Aura was watching Ravio nearly impale himself with a wooden sword, past were the Hero of Wind’s grandma was observing on the porch and past were Marin and Aryll were playing a game on the beach. She carefully tapped Aura on the shoulder, and the girl would’ve impaled Linkle had Linkle not been ready for her blade. 

“What? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Aura snapped before realizing it was Linkle and her expression softening to a certain level of sympathy, “Oh, Linkle, are you doing better? You took a pretty bad hit…”

“I’m fine.” Linkle promised, “But we need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's been a good few days. I had hoped to get a chapter posted this weekend, but work caught me off guard and I ran out of time. Midterms are this week and I've been working the past week to finish all of my projects (I'm studying to be a Graphic Designer, so our midterms are basically finishing major projects and prepping to turn them in and present them.) As a result, I've had to slow down my updating, but it should pick up again soon once midterms are over.


	37. She's A Pirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Outset Island Gets and Interesting Vistor.

“Wake up!” The cheerful voice of Aryll called, startling them all awake from where they were sleeping in the loft of that little cottage. Ravio was up immediately, grinning cheerfully with his dark hair sticking up at all angles. He quickly combed that out with his fingers and pulled his hood on as Aryll climbed up the ladder to the loft waving cheerfully at them, “Hoi! Wake up! Tetra’s here! Come on everyone! You’ve gotta meet miss. Tetra! She’s super awesome!” From the girl’s side of the loft, Aura groaned, turning over in her bedroll and pulling a pillow over her head. Linkle woke up, giggling down at the grumpy Aura and poking her while Marin kinda stared at the wall as if she was really, really confused. Groose just yawned and waved at the excited Aryll. Of course, Mr. Link was nowhere to be found because he slept at different hours of the day and probably spent the entire night goofing off or having weird conversations with that dark blade of his. 

Honestly, Ravio had no idea how Mr. Link was able to entertain himself at all hours of the night every night. Ravio at least had Sheerow to talk to when Mr. Hero was gone or business was slow. At night, everyone was typically asleep and Mr. Link was completely by himself. Ravio stretched dramatically before waking Sheerow and following Aryll down the ladder finding Mr. Link, who was finally starting to look tired and was glaring at the sunlight pouring into the window downstairs while eating the breakfast Aryll’s grandma had generously made. In the same room, actively speaking to Aryll’s grandmother was a girl who was younger than Mr. Link, yet somehow still taller, with a red bandanna, a flintlock pistol holstered to one hip and a cutlass sheathed on the other. Her hair was piled up in an odd swirl-like bun and was golden like the sun. 

It was then that it registered who Aryll had said was on the island. 

“Miss. Pirate?” Ravio asked in surprise. The girl in question was jerked from whatever conversation she was having with Aryll’s Grandma and spun to face him. Her eyes scanned over him and she cocked her head to the side, confusion spreading quickly across her face as she noted who had spoken, then took in his new tunic and the sword he had strapped on his back with his hammer. 

“...Ravio?” She asked in complete bewilderment, “Wow, what the heck happened to you?” Mr. Link looked up from his oatmeal with a small arch in his eyebrows.

“You two know each other?” He asked.

“Know each other?” Miss. Pirate asked, raising her hands in disbelief, “Please don’t tell me you neglected to tell your hosts about your amazing partner in trade, The Fearless Pirate Tetra?!” Ravio immediately grinned. Ah yes. He had to love pirates for their ability to barter properly and buy shady and odd products without asking questions. Miss. Pirate and Mr. Wind Hero had been most amazing costumers and partners in trade during the war and were one of the few things he actually missed about that time in his life… that along with messing around with Linkle. 

“I’ve not been keeping up my trade as much as I would’ve hoped.” Ravio admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “It’s been a few weeks actually since we left Castletown, hasn’t it, Mr. Link? That was the last place I sold and bartered at. So, unfortunately, the business side of my life has been a bit slow, which is understandable with the current issue many timelines are facing. I take it you’re here because of the Hero of Wind’s random disappearances?” Tetra waved her hand aside dismissively.

“Nah. I’ve known about the time traveling fiasco those idiots are on for a while now. They popped up on my ship once a month ago. Scared the daylight out of my crew, the babies…” She then crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall, “But I did get a letter from him a few days ago saying he was on Outset, and I came to check up on him. Apparently I just missed him by a day or two. But you’re here instead? What’s up with that? I didn’t know this time thing was dragging Non-Heroes of Hyrule across the eras. What gives? Is this a glitch or something… or, let me guess. That manic Cia is behind this?” 

“Actually, that’s my fault.” Mr. Link admitted, “Er, Ravio being here. Not the whole time jumping problem the others are in. I’m Link. Hero of Shadows. I’m the brother of the Hero of Four. I’m a shadow mage and I’ve been jumping timelines in hopes to fix the problem and kill the guy forcing our friends to jump eras. Ravio is tagging along because he has the weapon needed to kill the guy… and also the guy took ther Hero of Legend on this crazy time traveling mess too.” 

“Oh! And I’m not the only one here!” Ravio said cheerfully, “Miss. Hero is here too!” 

“Linkle?” Miss. Pirate asked, “Huh. Fun. It’s always good seeing her.”

“And there’s three others.” Mr. Link inserted, “Groose, Marin, and Aura.” 

“Oh!” Miss. Pirate said, “I know her! Marin, I mean. She’s the girl who likes seagulls more than my idiot of a first-mate, Link, right?” Ravio blinked under his hood, very baffled by this observation. 

“...You know Miss. Marin?”

“We met in the war.” Miss. Pirate said. 

“Huh… I was not aware she fought in the war.” Ravio said, making a mental note to ask Marin about it later. Miss. Pirate just shrugged, moving on, despite just delivering the news that Marin was a fellow veteran of the War of Eras like him, Miss. Pirate, and Linkle. 

“Anyways, I had this crazy dream last night.” Miss. Pirate said, switching topics without a pause, “And I got my ship and crew here a day earlier than I was supposed to. You were in it.” Miss. Pirate nodded towards Mr. Link, who looked confused.

“...I was… But I’ve never met you in my life! Are you sure it wasn’t my brother. You’ve met him, based on what you’ve told us so far, and we are pretty identical.” Another shrug.

“I don’t freaking know. My dreams have been all weird lately. What with the timeline being a complete wreck right now and all of these weird prophecies about dark palaces and magic swords and time guardians and stuff.” Miss. Pirate said, before pinching the bridge of her nose, as if trying to collect her thoughts. Mr. Link was staring at her with his mouth hanging open in shock.

“...You… You can see the future? You have prophetic dreams?” He stammered. 

“...Mr. Link… Miss. Pirate is the Zelda of this era. Hylia’s direct descendant, ruler of New Hyrule, the fierce pirate enforcer of the Great Sea, and former holder of the Triforce of Wisdom. Prophetic dreams are not uncommon for persons born into the Hyrulen Cycle.” Ravio explained quickly. Miss. Pirate stopped pinching her nose to shoot Ravio a disapproving look. 

“What did I tell you people about telling people I’m a Zelda? Jeesh! My name’s Tetra. I’m just a descendant. Yeah, I’ve got Hylia’s blooed and power and all that, but I’m not sissy princess that’s gonna run around in those dumb dresses. No way. Not me.” Miss. Pirate objected. Ravio just laughed. He missed having the spunky pirate girl around. It was about this time that Linkle came sliding down the ladder with Groose. Aura was completely M.I.A. Probably hiding somewhere in the loft area under some blankets, and Marin was coming down with way less enthusiasm than her morning bird friends.

“Mornin’ Mr. Link!” Linkle said cheerfully, “Mr. Ravio. Ms. Grandma Wind… Tetra!?” Linkle stopped her joyous greeting to stare at Miss. Pirate before grinning widely and wrapping the younger girl into a hug before Miss. Pirate had the chance to object. 

“Oh I should’ve known we’d run into you here! It is your era after all! I’ve missed you!” She said cheerfully.

“Well.” Mr. Groose laughed, “Someone’s in a much better mood this morning.” He then glanced up at the loft area, “Can’t say the same for Aura though. I forget she’s a bigger grouch than my Link is in the mornings.” 

“Oh, yours too?” Miss. Pirate asked, distancing herself from Linkle.

“Mine as well, actually.” Ravio chimed in. They all looked over at Mr. Link in expectation. Mr. Link shrugged helplessly.

“The heck if I would know. I’m nocturnal and I’ve never been around my Link in the mornings… well… I mean, I have… but… Not really. It’s weird.” That was an acceptable answer considering the nature of his relationship with his Link. Mr. Link let out a small yawn, getting to his feet and going over to clean his now empty bowl. 

“Speaking of which, time to hit the hay. I’ll send Aura down.”

“Ah! But I wanted to show you a really cool game Mr. Link!” Aryll complained. Ravio had honestly forgotten the girl was there. Mr. Link yawned dramatically, glancing back at the daylight streaming into the window with a certain wariness.

“Nah, we’ll play at sunset later, okay, kid?” He promised. She pouted but didn’t object as he finished scrubbing his bowl and pat her on the head good naturedly. 

“Mr. Link, wait!” Tetra called, stopping him before he could go up the stairs, “I actually came to Outset looking for Link for two reasons… To check on him… and to get his friends help with something.” 

“What are you going to send us on errands all across the sea now?” Mr. Link grunted. Tetra huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at the shadow. 

“Actually, yes.” She snapped, “And you aren’t even going to complain about it. None of you.” He rolled his crimson eyes and tried to continue his climb up. 

“There’s an island that is a week’s journey to the north. A merchant's Island that Link and my crew have been using to set up trade between New Hyrule and the Great Sea while the races of Hyrule here that want to live in the new country begin the migration process to New Hyrule. Called Windfall. The problem is, most of the pirates of the Great Sea have been taking advantage of the transition to the new country, pillaging our ships and attacking the Rito messengers we’ve been sending. Before he was taken by this thing… He and I were working against these enemy pirates, pillaging their ships back and destroying their bases. But when he vanished, I had to stop the progress on driving them back in favor of looking for him. At first I thought they had taken him to stop me, but as we started our search, we found that wasn’t true. By the time we actually realized what had happened to Link, they had taken advantage of me neglecting to drive them off in favor of my search… and they took Windfall Island.” Mr. Link paused.

“And you’d been hoping to get your Link to help you.” He said simply, “And had it not been for the Lizard’s interference, the island would’ve never been taken and the other pirates wouldn’t have gotten the upper hand. The Lizard’s changing history completely by taking Wind.” 

“But not if we take Windfall back and drive them off.” Linkle resolved. Marin next to Groose shifted nervously on her feet.

“O-oh, we… we’re taking a week-long voyage to this island on a boat?” She asked with a certain edge to her voice, “Well… can Ravio and I stay behind and keep practicing with our weapons-” 

“You can do training and stuff on a boat.” Linkle waved off, “Don’t worry about it. Groose will have you two fighting like knights in no time.”   
“Yeah, if we’re doing a trip that long, we don’t want to separate… especially after what happened last time.” Groose agreed. Marin looked sick, and Aryll reached over, squeezing her hand.

“...Miss. Tetra can I come with you guys this time?” She asked. 

“Aryll I don’t think-” Tetra immediately began to object, but Aryll simply put a hand on her hip.

“I’m just as old as my big brother was when he saved the whole world! And I’ve been practicing too! I can help! I want to help!” She said, her big blue eyes pleading with the pirate.

“Your brother would kill me!” Tetra objected.

“And I’d kill him right back.” Aryll said, letting go of Marin and crossing her arms, “Trust me. I know how to scare Link. Please! Miss. Marin’s really shy about it, but she gets seasick and you need someone really good at medicine like me to help her out! I have to go with you! Plus, I never get to leave the island and big brother does all the time! The one time I did get to leave I was… Well…” Aryll faltered, a shutter passed through her body, “Well, I didn’t get to see very much of the sea. Not really.”   
Tetra looked helplessly over at Aryll’s grandma, who’s expression was soft and a worn smile traced over her lips as she regarded her youngest granddaughter. 

“They’re born sailors, those two. Just like their grandpa… and their parents. It’s rather difficult to keep someone who loves the sea from the sea. I’m sure you’d know all about that, Miss. Tetra.” The old woman responded, “And don’t worry about me, if that’s what’s keeping you from taking her. Orca visits every day to keep this old woman company and I can manage just fine.” Tetra let out a deep sigh. 

“Fine, but I’m bringing you right back to Outset once everything’s fixed up there.” Tetra said before glancing back over at Mr. Link, “So?” Mr. Link just shrugged.

“Yeah, okay, we’ll help you get the merchant island back and fix history, but we’ll need something from you in exchange. As of right now, we’re stuck in this era until we can figure out how to control our jumps. Something tells me a version of Zelda would have a pretty good solution to that problem.” Mr. Link decided. Tetra frowned, and then she shook her head, clearly conflicted.

“I actually have no clue, Mr. Link.” She admitted, “I’d say the best bet is to fix the compass, but if Mr. Ravio, one of the leading experts on creating and using magical artifacts, doesn’t know how to fix it so that it does what you want it to, I can’t exactly help you.” Mr. Link didn’t seem pleased about that, and Ravio felt a little guilty. A lot of the inner mechanisms of the compass had been crushed, be he knew those were easy to fix and replace. That… that was not the problem. The problem was that the magic within it had died when the Lizard crushed it, meaning even if they did fix it, they would have to figure out how to re-embed the light magic required to make it work. To do that, they needed to figure out what exactly had embedded the magic in the first place and how. From the royal symbol on the compass, Ravio could only assume the royal family had something to do with it’s creation… but the magic it had been using had not been the same as the light magic typically found in the members of the royal family. In fact, it was unlike any light magic Ravio had seen in a long time. 

Sure, speaking to a child of the royal line like Tetra was a good way to learn where that brand of light magic had originated from, but something told him that most of Hyrule’s history, along with Tetra’s access to such knowledge, had been washed away in the sea by the floods the goddesses poured onto this Hyrule. He ducked his head, gulping a little when he noticed the eyes that settled on him as he pondered this. 

“W-well, I think we’ll just need to risk jumping without until we can find a version of Zelda who would know the source of light magic that her compass used.” Ravio said quickly, getting the stammering out of his voice as fast as he could, “But, um, if you can’t tell us, perhaps there’s another way you can repay us for helping fix this era-”

“Oh no…” Groose said in a small voice, having been thoroughly educated by Mr. Link and Ravio at this point on the importance of being a good businessman (Or in Mr. Link’s case, the many warnings he’d already given to Groose not to go bartering or selling things with Ravio for reasons beyond Ravio’s understanding.) 

“I want you to tell us about these dreams you’ve mentioned.” Ravio said, “So far, we follow the words of a seer, and some of what you mentioned earlier… like how the timeline is a mess and how we need to find this dark palace…and we’ve found two powerful swords thus far, my Goddess Sword and the Blade of Demise. But… you mentioned time guardians?” Tetra hesitated, before crossing her arms and scowling at the floor.

“You all remember Cia and Lana?” Tetra asked. 

“Who?” Mr. Link questioned. Groose and Marin looked just as confused by the names. Linkle just grit her teeth and nodded.

“The guardian of time. Cia was supposed to watch the timeline and ensure things didn’t get too out of hand with all the time traveling the Hero was doing, but she fell in love with the Hero from afar and Demise used this to influence her with his hate and split her soul in two, creating Lana the white sorceresses and Cia the dark. Cia the dark started the war in my era, in hopes to get to my brother and make him and all incarnations of the Hero hers. Ganondorf took advantage of her love inspired war to break from the seals the last Hero put on his spirit and return, waging a war of his own. They are why my Hyrule is in the state of constant war and turmoil it’s in.” Linkle explained. 

“Yeah, well, at the end of that second half of the war, the part where I was dragged into the fray, Cia came back and realigned herself with the Hylian forces again, remember? She and Lana took up their jobs as the Guardian of Time again… which begs the question… why haven’t they done anything to stop the Lizard?” Tetra asked. Everyone stared at Tetra in complete silence, clearly baffled by this information and the question. Because if there was a person who was supposed to keep stuff like this happening and keep the timeline in order, then why was the Lizard still running a muck, and why weren’t they the one’s stopping him? 

“Well, anyways… the other night, I had this… dream. It was weird. I dreamed that something dark took Link… my Link away, and then a shadow came and stopped him… but then… after that, I dreamed about Lana and Cia. They were fighting. Arguing. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong with Cia. She was her usual creepy self, but there was something even darker behind that. Lana was keeping her in check, per usual, but I could tell she was afraid Cia would slip and lose it completely. When the dream ended… I heard Nayru’s voice tell me of their fate. Tell me about the fall of the guardian of time.” 

“Did Lizzy kill or turn them against us?” Ravio asked in bewilderment. Groose looked thoughtful.

“Well, if the Cia lady was evil and crazy to begin with, it is possible that she and the Lizard are friends now and that’s why the Lana chick is upset and why everything’s a mess right now.” Tetra shook her head, her troubled expression only seemed to grow more sour and conflicted.

“The Fall of the Guardian of Time,  
Shall begin with a murderous crime.  
The death of a sister and the loss of a blessing,  
While dark runs rampant and the Heroes missing.  
With the shadow’s death and sacrifice,  
All will be reset and his blood will surely suffice.” Tetra muttered softly, and they all seemed to pale. Aryll and Linkle looked suddenly very self aware, considering they were sisters to the Heroes. No doubt if Aura weren’t so set on being grouchy in the mornings and had actually come down to meet Tetra, she would’ve worn the same pale expression. Ravio worried about his half sister, and he also worried about his Zelda, who was Mr. Hero’s full sister. Suddenly Tetra’s reluctance to let Aryll travel with them seemed to make ten times more sense. 

“Was that what Nayru told you?” Mr. Link said in a soft voice. Tetra merely nodded. 

“Mr. Link I’m-” She started to apologize, but he raised his hand.

“No, I knew I was going to die.” He sighed, “This just confirms it.” 

“But… which of us…” Linkle’s voice broke, “Which of us is the sister that will die?”

“And what blessing is going to be lost?” Groose agreed. 

“And sacrifice… is the dark going to actually get ahold of Mr. Link and conduct this sacrifice we’ve been fighting to prevent?” Ravio agreed. Mr. Link set his jaw, before looking up at his team in determination. 

“Forget napping. Someone go wake Aura. We set sail with Miss. Tetra today. The faster we handle Windfall, the faster we jump again. The quicker jump, the quicker it will be to find a Zelda who knows how to fix the compass. And when we fix it, we can finally get to the bottom of all of this.” Mr. Link ordered. Without hesitation, they all scrambled to obey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after forever of not updating, I am now updating. Sorry. Like I said last chapter, midterms were going on, and then after that work got a bit crazy, but I should slowly be easing back into a regular update schedule. Sorry for the delay on this chapter. Thanks for your patience.


	38. Windfall.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They prepare to land on Windfall Island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, right as I thought my schedule was clearing, I got quarantined (Don't worry, I'm fine) and had to deal with the chaos that is transitioning to remote and online college. As a result, it took much longer than I thought it would to get this chapter done. Things however (And hopefully it will stay this way) are calming down and I'm getting to that point in the two weeks where I have a bit too much free time on my hands, so I should be able to get back to posting on the regular.

“Good job Mr. Ravio!” Aryll cheered as he parried Marin’s blade, Marin stumbled, risking another glance towards the edge of the boat as her stance became unbalanced once more and she found herself stumbling, feeling a bit woozy.

“Ugh…” She held up her hand, “I need to stop… I think I’m gonna be sick.” Tetra looked mildly annoyed as Aryll rushed to help Marin sit down, checking for the twenty-fifth time to see if she had a fever, which she did not.

“Jeesh, siren lady, you're just as bad as the Hero of Legend. Spent his whole time aboard my ship below deck or off spilling his lunch.” Tetra noted before nodding towards Ravio, “Though good job buddy, you’re finding your style.” Groose walked up to Ravio, patting the man on the shoulder.

“Well, of course, they have the best sword fighter in Skyloft teaching them!”

“Oh, I didn’t realize the Chosen Hero and First King of Hyrule himself was giving out free fighting lessons.” Aura mocked with an eye roll and a wily smirk. Groose sneered in her direction.

“Ha ha. Second best swordsman.” He corrected.

“Zelda?” Aura mocked, “Is that you? Why is your hair red!?”

“I hate you, Aura.” Groose deadpanned.

“So I did some asking around on the red hair thing, by the way, while we were in Ordon a while back. Apparently, Twilight’s the direct descendant of the Hero of Time, who was believed to have married the founder of Ordon Village, a wily red headed Hylian lady named Malon.” Mr. Link offered.

“So what’s the count of Links in love with redheads?” Ravio asked.

“So far, Hero of Legend and Marin, Hero of Twilight and Midna, Hero of Time and Malon, and a former relationship between the Hero of Wild and a red Zora named Mipha. That’s four.” Linkle remembered.

“Er, well, actually. My Zelda had red-blonde hair. More red than blonde, so it’s five.” Mr. Link corrected. 

“Five out of nine.” Linkle agreed, “It's official, they have a type.” 

“My brother isn’t!” Aryll said, “In love with a red head, I mean. He likes Miss. Tetra! He told me!” Immediately Tetra’s face flushed bright red.

“Er, aren't you supposed to be looking out for land or enemy ships with Zuko?” She asked the twelve year old girl. Aryll just giggled before grabbing onto the rig and climbing back up to the lookout. Everyone snickered at Tetra, who was red and looking about ready to throw them all overboard, Mr. Link glanced out to the sea, ignoring her, from where he was positioned under the doorway where there was plenty of shadow. 

“So, it’s been seven days, a full week, we should’ve reached this island by now. What’s up with that?” He asked. Marin nodded in agreement. She had had enough of sailing to last her three lifetimes between this seasick adventure and the situation that happened with the Wind Fish. She wanted off this boat as soon as humanly possible.

“We’re avoiding a blockade.” Tetra explained simply, “They know my crew, but they won’t know the five…” She trailed off, looking up to where Aryll had just scrambled up, “...The six of you. Plus, Ravio’s actually a merchant, so this works in our favor. We’ll get you six onto the island via lifeboat and rowing in a place where the lighthouse won’t catch ya and they don’t have many guards at night. You’ll drive the ones on land off the island, and we’ll use our canons to blow up anyone that tries to leave. When you’ve gotten everyone, send Ravio’s bird over.” Tetra instructed. 

“Um, okay, so basically, you're throwing us into the fray and your guys are picking off any of the bad guys that try to run off.” Groose noted. Tetra just beamed at him, winking, “Fun.” 

“So what exactly will we be looking at when we engage this enemy?” Linkle asked, going into soldier mode as everyone could tell she was clearly coming up with a thousand different strategies on what they would have to do to win this fight. 

“Um, they’re pirates, Miss. Hero.” Tetra said in a teasing voice, “One, they’ll probably be superstitious. This group in particular is and has been since the whole Ganon fiasco two years back. A guy with shadow magic will spook ‘em. Don’t worry, I think you seven got this. Just, you know, don’t let the evil pirates hurt the kid, or I’m gonna throw you all over board the next time you get on my ship.”

“We’ll guess it's good that we’ve got a literal shadow on our side.” Groose noted, nodding towards Mr. Link. Mr. Link just smirked proudly. Clearly pleased that him being a shadow was actually useful. 

“We’ll need to canvas the area first. Get a gauge of how many are on the island. We’ll send a message back to Tetra with the details on that tonight during our first stay.” Linkle mulled, “Also, it might be good to disable all of their canons. Sabotage their weapons. People in this world have access to gunpowder weapons, right? You carry one yourself, Miss. Tetra.” Tetra beamed, patting the strange contraption of a weapon that she kept on her belt proudly.

“It's called a pistol. And honestly, it’s kinda the coolest thing ever. Twice as quick as any sword, bow, or crossbow. If I hadn’t seen the future already, I would make the claim that everyone in the future would be carrying these.” Tetra bragged, “Though I love my cutlass too. But um, yeah, watch out for this kind of stuff. It can kill a man in one hit.” 

“Such technology must’ve been around while the Sheikah made guardians in my Hyrule.” Aura muttered under her breath, “Maybe it’s a good thing we Hylians have a habit of sticking with swords and bows.”

“Well, let's put Groose on sabotage team with Mr. Link.” Linkle continued, “His knowledge of engineering can help him figure out that tech and disable some of it. Marin, Aryll, and Aura will canvas the area. Ravio and I will handle the distracting of the pirates at the docks, via, merchandise.” Ravio perked up, beaming from ear to ear. He was clearly excited to go be a merchant on an island full of pirates. Honestly if anyone could pull off being a merchant on an island full of pirates… it’d be Ravio. The guy was good at persuading people to buy his stuff and likely an expert in haggling. 

“Stick close to Aura, Marin. Both you and Aryll. You two might know how to use swords better now, but I think it’s best if you three stayed close. It's not safe for a girl to be alone on an island full of pirates.” Tetra ordered. Marin managed a little nod, because that seemed like given information, “Also, try to keep your weapons out of sight, but easy to reach. Keep a secondary weapon on you. I don’t have any more flintlocks to lend you for this, otherwise I’d suggest that. Carry a dagger. That’ll have to make up for the lack of flintlocks, though not by much. But they’re small, easy to carry, and will work if something goes wrong. Be very careful if you come across anyone with some sort of gunpowder weapon. Like I said, those can kill a man like that!” Tetra snapped her fingers.

“Not to mention, shields only do so much against them, from what I remember.” Linkle agreed. Aura scowled darkly, looking very aggravated. 

“This is insane. How do you counter a weapon like that, assuming they have them?” She questioned, “At least with guardians, shields work against them… mostly. I think my brother might just be insane.” 

“If that doesn’t describe the Links in a nutshell, I don’t know what does.” Tetra snickered, “So, do we have a plan?” 

“Seems so. We’ll take the lifeboat to the island at dusk.” Linkle decided.

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, while I have played Fourswords Adventures and all that, this Shadow Link is completely based off of the Manga and is a completely separate person from Dark Link. (Which I believe most Linked Universe fans have simply decided was the case at this point, but I honestly have no clue.)
> 
> So, I really have little idea to how this story is going to go. I have an idea for the ending, but for the most part, this will be a story that I'll post as I write it.
> 
> As far as swearing and ships and things like that go, most of the characters have platonic/sibling relationship with their respected Link. The exception being, if you've read the tags, Marin. Rough language will not be present in this story, since I myself do not swear, though it will be implied depending, seeing as I'm pretty aware that some characters would realistically speak in a certain manner.


End file.
